Post by Taxigirl on Jan 23, 2004 12:09:37 GMT
Celtic manager Martin O'Neill insists John Hartson was not guilty of elbowing Hearts' Andy Webster on Saturday.
Hearts released video footage of the incident to the media on Wednesday.
O'Neill has now seen the tape and says that while it looks like the Welshman did elbow Webster on first viewing, slow-motion suggests otherwise.
"If you take it frame by frame you will find the arm supposed to have done the damage does not belong to John Hartson," he said.
"Therefore, John Hartson is not guilty of elbowing Andy Webster in the face as has been reported.
"The linesman called the referee over immediately because he had spotted something and, on the assistant's advice, he administered a yellow card to John for barging into the player when the ball was out of play.
"The linesman has been proved to have called it correctly.
"Much has been said about it but having seen the slow motion of the incident, I am happy that John has not elbowed the player in the face.
"I'm sure it won't be but I would like to think this is the end of the issue," he told the club's official website.
news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/scot_prem/3410257.stm
Hartson had pleaded innocence since Saturday's game, suggesting that the Hearts defender had made the most of the challenge during a game full of controversy at Tynecastle.
But Hearts head coach Craig Levein decided to release the new evidence to clear his player's name.
"We stumbled on this doing our video analysis," he said.
"We would not have made anything of it if John Hartson had not suggested that Andy was making a meal of it.
"My job is to protect my player and the good name of my club and this shows him elbowing Andy Webster in the face."
Hartson was yellow-carded for the off-the-ball incident early in the game eventually won 1-0 by league leaders Celtic.
Levein thought he should have been sent off, but the Welshman insisted that it was a "shoulder-to-shoulder" challenge and that he was the kind of man who would have owned up if he had done anything wrong.
BBC live footage had not caught the incident on camera.
But, while inconclusive about the nature of any blow, the new video evidence from Hearts' own footage shows Webster suddenly collapse to the ground after Hartson makes a lunge towards the Scotland international.
The Scottish Football Association has confirmed that, as the referee's assistant had deemed the action only worthy of a yellow card, it would not re-examine the incident.