Just a lesson for us, asks Askou after Slattery ban
Callum Slattery's four-game ban for simulation will only lead to a change in culture if consistency is applied, argues Motherwell manager Jens Berthel Askou, who worries the decision could "risk losing trust" from those the Scottish FA "are here to serve". The midfielder received the retrospective punishment for deceiving match officials in a 5-0 win away to St Mirren in February. Richard King was sent off after Slattery's off-the-ball reaction, with the red card later rescinded and the latter cited by the SFA compliance officer.
With half of the ban imposed by a panel suspended, the 27-year-old will miss Saturday's home game with Falkirk and the following Premiership trip to face Hearts. "Time will tell whether it's the start of a change of culture, or whether it's a perfect recipe for a governing body to risk losing trust from the people they are here to serve," Askou said. "Obviously it's a big blow for us.
Whether we agree or not on what they have concluded, on the evidence that they have submitted, that's a different story. "We have to accept it and try and learn from this case. " Motherwell's Slattery gets four-game ban for simulation When the penalty for Slattery was announced, Motherwell remarked that "a third layer of refereeing has now been implemented", adding: "All clubs have witnessed similar incidents in games, which haven't resulted in retrospective bans.
" Askou made a similar argument while stressing his objection to players behaving "dishonestly". The Dane said: "Do I applaud a governing body that does everything they can to strike down against players, in principle, who try to win advantages by acting cynically or dishonestly? Yes, I most certainly do.
"I think there's plenty of opportunities to do that in every game. "Now the governing body has taken this opportunity to do it and, whether it will just be a lesson for us, or whether it will be the start of changing a culture, time will tell. " Askou expressed surprise at the the severity of the ban, explaining: "If you get caught doing it in the game then I think the most you can get is a booking.