Michael Stewart claims Scottish FA stance 'untenable' as he addresses 'petty and pathetic' Hampden ban

The former Manchester United, Hearts and Hibs midfielder was refused entry and had to be taken off Premier Sports duties for Sunday’s Scottish Cup semi-final between Celtic and St Mirren.

Stewart, who also works for BBC Scotland, had contributed to Premier Sports’ coverage of Saturday’s semi-final between Falkirk and Dunfermline from an outside broadcast truck in the Hampden car park.

But the television company announced on Sunday that the SFA had now stated he was not welcome in the “Hampden footprint”, adding: “As a broadcast partner of the SFA, we are very disappointed with this position."

The Scottish Senior Football Referees’ Association has backed the rationale behind the sanction, accusing Stewart of calling their integrity into question and going beyond fair criticism in a statement issued on Monday.

Stewart addressed the ban during a Premier Sports podcast later on Monday evening.

"The weekend has been farcical," he told The Scottish Football Social Club. "The fall-out is petty and pathetic. What sort of country are we living in here where an institution sees fit to ban somebody for an opinion that they don't agree on?

"I'm not going to try and sit here and play some sort of victim because I'm big enough and ugly enough to take these things on my shoulder, but there's a strain that comes with that, and there's a strain on everyone else around me as well. I take a lot of pride in trying to be straight and honest with my assessment on things. I don't try to curry favour with anybody and clearly that upsets people that are in power at times. But, ultimately, I'm not looking to appease them. I'm looking to try and be honest, and I think that's important in this country.

"There's a serious issue here and there's a dangerous precedent been set by the SFA.

“Everything I have done is out there in the public domain. Premier and myself have asked for six months for better communication.

“Is it really a tenable position to say ‘we’re not happy’ and not communicate, then you’re banned? That’s not how grown-ups behave. The SFA's position is not tenable."