Lachlan Cameron, the Ayr United chairman, last night left Hampden feeling that his decision to appeal the six-match suspension given to Michael Moffat for breaking betting rules was justified, after the ban was reduced to four matches, with a further two suspended.
The Ayr striker had been found guilty of two charges, including one which related to bets placed on matches which involved the SPFL League 1 club. Moffat - who is the division's top scorer - was also found guilty of betting on 150 other games.
His club took the decision to appeal the initial ban as the sentence was more severe than that given to Ian Black, who was also found guilty of betting offences. The Rangers midfielder had placed bets against his own side and incurred a 10-match ban, seven of which were suspended.
"[The reduced four-match ban] was the best we could hope for," said Cameron last night. "We got a very fair hearing and the outcome justifies our decision to take the original punishment to an appeal."
The Ayr chairman had considered whether it was morally right for his club to appeal the initial suspension since his player had been found guilty of placing bets in matches which involved his own team. He would be swayed eventually by a strong feeling that a six-match ban was "grossly unfair" when put alongside the lighter punishment given to Black.
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