Hibs boss addresses 'violent conduct' row as Aberdeen ace escapes red card despite VAR intervention

David Gray believes Hibs and Aberdeen should have been playing 10 v 10 in today’s controversial clash at Pittodrie, with the Easter Road gaffer insisting that referee David Dickinson should have red-carded Dons wingback Emmanuel Gyamfi for violent conduct. Hibs lost 2-0 after Grant Hanley was sent off for fouling Toyosi Olusanya in conceding an early penalty that allowed the home side to take a grip of the game.

Gray had no complaints about Dickinson’s decision to send off Scotland World Cup hero Hanley after an intervention by video assistant referee Greg Aitken. But he did feel the match official should have sent off Gyamfi for smashing an arm into the back of Owen Elding’s head early in the second half.

Dickinson was called over to review that incident on the advice of VAR. But let Gyamfi off with a booking.

Gray, asked if he felt Aberdeen should have been reduced to ten men, said: “In my opinion yes. I was surprised he missed it on the pitch. Not that he would have given a red card – but it was a clear foul at the time.

“That’s what I spoke to the fourth official about, how he misses the foul in the first place. But he misses it, which can happen.

“But VAR only intervenes because they’re thinking: ‘You need to look at this. You've missed it. You need to look at it.’

“In my opinion, that means Greg Aitken in the VAR thinks it's a red card, or definitely grounds for the review. He goes over, and on one hand, I compliment the referee for sticking to his guns and not being swayed. He makes his own opinion clearly.

“It's just not the same opinion as me. I would think a lot of people looking at that will agree with me.

“Soft it may be, but just the letter of the law, I think that's violent conduct. Because the player who makes contact with the back of Owen's head, it's a deliberate action to not play the ball.

“Different if he goes and plays the ball as well. But certainly makes contact with the back of his head.

“And in normal time, not slowed down, but in normal time, you can see the force that's there as well. So for me, I think it ticks every box for a red card.

“Maybe a soft one, but I just don't think you can do that. You can't lift your hands and make contact with someone's head.”

Revealing that he’d talked to Dickinson about the decision, Gray said: “I've spoken to him. He thought he was reckless, was the words he used, but not enough in it to warrant a red card.

“Which I found surprising, purely because, as I say, different if it's a genuine coming together. So the player that does it makes contact before he goes and heads it, I would have a lot more understanding as to if it's just a genuine coming together, a bit accidental.

“I think the fact he doesn't even play the ball, and it's someone else that plays the ball, it's almost a deliberate action for me, which makes it a pretty straightforward red card in my opinion.”

Insisting he had no argument with the Hanley red card that allowed Kevin Nisbet to score the first of his two goals on the day, Gray said: “I think the first decision, I think it's the correct one. I think it's really unfortunate, I think it's completely accidental, the wind gets under the ball a little bit.

“I think the initial contact is outside the box, which if you gave a foul for that, fine, but then he definitely continues onto the box and accidentally, I think, catches him. So I think the right decision was made there and as a result of that, whether we think it's right or wrong, because it's an accidental thing, the letter of the law, it's a red card.

“Then you obviously get the double punishment because Kevin puts it away, so you find yourself in a situation pretty comfortable settling into the game to being 1-0 down with 10 men, which is really difficult, especially against a team like Aberdeen. From then, I thought we settled into the game not bad.

“I obviously made a change, so I tried to keep the two strikers on, so I went to a back four just to try and keep a threat up the pitch. I thought we'd done well within that, without forcing Aberdeen to defend enough.

“But I think the next part of that was probably the timing of the second goal, and that was avoidable from our point of view. It was a bit of a lash at the clearance.

“If we'd defended that slightly better, I thought the players had earned enough of a right to have a real go in the last 15 minutes or so.

“When you are 1-0 down, but you've been playing with 10 men for such a long period of time, a bit more anxiety in the stadium. That was a bit of a sucker blow, to be honest, in terms of the timing of it. From then, it makes it very difficult at the back end of the game.”