JOSH MEEKINGS has been cleared to play in the Scottish Cup final after a judicial panel dismissed the notice of complaint against him in relation to last Sunday's controversial Scottish Cup semi final against Celtic.
The Inverness Caledonian Thistle defender was said to be "mentally shattered" when SFA compliance officer Tony McGlennan offered him a one-match cup ban and cited him for a breach of Disciplinary Rule 200, accusing him of "denying the opposing team an obvious goal-scoring opportunity by deliberately handling the ball" during the first-half incident which saw him use an arm to stop a goal-bound Leigh Griffiths header.
While Steven McLean, the match referee, took no action at the time on the incident, which could have led to a Celtic penalty and a red card, or alternatively a two-goal Celtic lead, the original citing arrived shortly after the Parkhead club issued a formal letter to the SFA for clarification on the subject. After two hours of deliberation, the dismissal of the notice of complaint by the independent panel, which will allow the 22-year-old from Bury St Edmonds to take his place in the showpiece game against Falkirk on May 30, arrived amid growing criticism towards the governing body's disciplinary processes from the likes of Jim Boyce, the head of Fifa's refereeing committee, and former Celtic manager Neil Lennon.
"The club is delighted for Josh that the Judicial Panel Tribunal dismissed the complaint brought against him," said Inverness chairman Kenny Cameron. "Josh will now be available for selection for the Cup Final on 30th May 2015 v Falkirk FC. The result means that the club can now fully appreciate the achievement of reaching it's first ever Scottish Cup Final and focus on preparations for Saturdays game versus Aberdeen FC. On a personal note, both Josh and I would like to express our gratitude to our legal team from Harper Macleod led by Partner David Kerr who worked tirelessly to ensure a favourable outcome."
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