Kilmarnock manager Derek McInnes 'in disbelief' after Kyle Vassell appeal fails

Kilmarnock manager Derek McInnes has said that he is in a state of “disbelief” after an appeal against Kyle Vassell’s red card failed.

Vassell was sent off during his side’s defeat to Hibernian for serious foul play after his high boot caught Marian Cabraja in the face. Match referee John Beaton had initially shown a yellow card after the incident but upgraded that to a red following a VAR review.

Kilmarnock were adamant that the dismissal was wrong and submitted an appeal but an independent panel met on Wednesday and upheld the sending off, meaning Vassell will miss the next two games.

McInnes, who had said after the game that there was no intent to foul, and that Beaton had a clear view of the incident as it happened, was unhappy with the final outcome.

“Disbelief really, at the lack of understanding of the whole incident,” the manager said. “It’s just so disappointing but we need to move on. We’ve just got to take our medicine and get on with it.

“Truth be told, I was hoping common sense would prevail. I knew the three-person panel would include one former referee. I was told there would somebody from football as well, a former footballer or manager but I don’t believe that was the case.

“I thought there might be a better understanding of the situation because we were there live in the ground and nobody thought that was a red card, including John (Beaton), the referee.

“I thought he had a great view of it and there was no clamour from Hibernian for a red card.

“But we move on. There’s no point me bleating about it, I did enough of that on Saturday.”

Despite the disappointment, McInnes still feels the appeal process is worthwhile in the post-VAR landscape, and said that the Rugby Park club had to follow through on their belief that a mistake had been made.

“I still think if you feel strongly enough about something, you have to put the case forward,” he said.

“I was really pleased with the case we put forward in terms of how we felt the incident played out. We owed it to our supporters and Kyle but unfortunately it fell on deaf ears.

“I was hoping the football person on the panel would see that incident for what it was but I was then informed that there wasn’t an ex-footballer or an ex-manager.

“I have been there before with appeals, you don’t always get what you think is the right outcome.”