Exclusive: Ban verdict after serious McKenzie incident at Dundee Utd v Aberdeen
Keith Hackett has reacted to the injury suffered by Aberdeen defender Jack MacKenzie in the aftermath of his side’s defeat to Dundee United.
The former PGMOL chief and ex-FIFA official exclusively told Football Insider that the SFA will follow the Police in taking action against those involved.
Dundee United came from behind to beat Aberdeen 2-1 at Tannadice Park on the final day of the Scottish Premiership season on Saturday (17 May).
In doing so, Jim Goodwin‘s side leapfrogged their opponents into fourth place in the final standings, putting them in a position to compete in the Europa League next season.
The Dons meanwhile will play Conference League football next season unless they can beat Celtic in this weekend’s Scottish Cup final to reclaim that Europa League spot from Dundee United.
Jack MacKenzie injured as crowd trouble mars final day
After the game, many of the home side’s supporters had entered on to the pitch in order to celebrate that European qualification.
Meanwhile, as that was ongoing, there was also a significant incident in the section of the stadium housing the away fans.
After things had settled down, Aberdeen defender Jack MacKenzie was seen being taken off the pitch in a wheelchair, after being hit in the head by a chair from the crowd within his own set of supporters.
It has already been confirmed that Police in Scotland and the club themselves are investigating the incident, and Hackett expects the Scottish FA to do the same.
Keith Hackett calls for action after Aberdeen incident
After being asked by Football Insider how he expects the SFA to respond to the incident, the former referee said:
“Well they have to. The reality is that the safety and security of match officials is paramount within the professional game.
“They have stewards, they have policing, I think there’s always this problem at the end of season where fans want to come on.
“There is a law, I’m sure it applies in Scotland as well that if you enter the field of play you are committing a criminal offence for which you can be charged.
“I’ve no doubt that common sense applies and they relax that but when a player gets injured in this type of situation then you’ve got to express a massive concern.
“So that will be investigated. I’m sure that as in England, certainly at Premier League, Championship level, there’s a huge amount of security cameras in operation.
“They’ll be looking for the culprit, and I think you’ve also got to ask where did the loose chair come from?
“One of the things that you take very great care about when the security officers [are preparing] is anything loose, anything that can be thrown, don’t provide any type of object that can be thrown.
“So find the culprit, and if they find the culprit he’s got to have a lifetime ban.”