Stuart Kettlewell gets Motherwell red card backing as Sportscene delivers 'clear and obvious' verdict

The Sportscene pundits unanimously agreed that Jack Vale should NOT have been sent off in Motherwell's 1-0 defeat to Aberdeen and felt that Fir Park boss Stuart Kettlewell had every right to feel aggrieved with the decision.

With 56 minutes on the clock at Pittodrie, Blackburn loanee Vale was given his marching orders for a high boot on Dons fullback Jack MacKenzie by referee Craig Napier. The incident was checked by VAR, only for the technology to stick with the on field referee's call. Just four minutes after Vale's dismissal, the hosts went onto to bag what turned out to be the winning goal when Stefan Gartenmann powered home a header from Junior Hoilett's corner.

After the game, Steelmen gaffer Kettlewell struggled to hide his disgust at the decision to show Vale a straight red card and insists that his team were more than in the game up until that point. And the 39-year-old's frustration has now been justified by both Lee Miller and Neil McCann, who believe that VAR should have stepped in to overturn what they described as a "clear and obvious error."

Speaking on Sportscene, former Aberdeen, Hearts and Dundee United striker Miller said: "For me it's not a red card. He makes connection with the ball as it clearly goes the opposite way. If anything Jack MacKenzie steam rolls into the challenge and effectively spins Jack Vale round.

"Yes he makes contact with his studs but there is clear contact with the ball and I don't think it's a red card. He can't help that follow through so it's disappointing."

McCann added: "That's a clear and obvious error because he wins the ball. It's not as if Jack MacKenzie has put his head in as well. Granted, it's a sore one but I don't believe there is any intent. Anybody who has played the game knows that when the ball is coming over your shoulder you are trying to adjust your stride pattern.

"He does really well and gets the full of the ball. That should be overturned. He only has eyes for the ball. Craig Napier was really quick to show the red and I think he should have been invited across to have another look at it. I find myself in total agreement with Stuart Kettlewell that it was the wrong decision."