Hibs defender Ryan Porteous banned for four games after red card appeal rejected

Hibernian’s Ryan Porteous will serve a four-game ban after losing an appeal against his red card in Saturday’s 3-1 cinch Premiership defeat by Aberdeen.

The 22-year-old defender was sent off by referee Alan Muir in the 63rd minute of the match at Pittodrie after fouling Ross McCrorie in an incident that led to the Dons being awarded a penalty from which they went 2-1 ahead.

Porteous discovered his fate at a fast-track tribunal hearing on Wednesday, with an additional match added to his automatic three-game ban for making an appeal which had no prospect of success.

He will miss the last two games before the split, against Dundee United and Hearts, and then the first two post-split fixtures.

Porteous’s ban will only apply to the league, so he will be available to face Edinburgh rivals Hearts in next month’s Scottish Cup semi-final.

A statement on Hibs’ official website read: “We can confirm that our appeal against Ryan Porteous’ sending-off against Aberdeen has been unsuccessful.

“Our centre-back was dismissed after giving away a penalty in our defeat at Pittodrie.

“After receiving our appeal, we are disappointed that the SFA have deemed that there wasn’t a possibility for Ryan to play the ball successfully and have increased his suspension to four league games.

“That means he will miss our games against Dundee United and Hearts, alongside the first two matches after the split.

“He will, however, be available for our Scottish Cup semi-final against Hearts at Hampden.”