Ex-FIFA official reacts to controversial Kevin Clancy incident in Hearts win vs St Mirren

Hearts picked up a memorable victory over St Mirren on Wednesday as they won 2-0 at Tynecastle to go six points clear at the top of the Scottish Premiership.

It was a battling performance from Derek McInnes’ side as Hearts won back-to-back games with 10 players.

Goals from Lawrence Shankland and Tomas Magnusson proved to be enough to secure the victory as they once again picked up three points against the odds.

However, the match could have gone very differently as Beni Baningime gave St Mirren a massive advantage early on when the midfielder was sent off.

Now, former referee Keith Hackett has given his view on the decision.

This team 💪 pic.twitter.com/Fl2gQ0rqEO— Heart of Midlothian FC (@JamTarts) January 14, 2026

Keith Hackett: Kevin Clancy should have originally sent off Beni Baningime

Few Hearts fans will have arguments with Baningime’s red card against St Mirren.

The midfielder was reckless as he made contact with Roland Idowu’s upper calf.

Yet, Kevin Clancy originally deemed the tackle only worthy of a yellow card before VAR helped advise the referee to upgrade it to a red.

After watching the footage, Hackett was stunned that Clancy did not send off Baningime in the first place.

13′ | HMFC 0-0 SMFC

Beni Baningime has been shown a straight red card after a VAR review.

Hearts down to 10.— Heart of Midlothian FC (@JamTarts) January 14, 2026

He exclusively told Football Insider: “This was a clear serious foul challenge for which the sanction rightly is a red card.

“Referees must ‘see’ the offence clearly, recognise the seriousness of the type of challenge in law, then think and then act appropriately.

“Clearly, he must have had some doubt about the appropriate outcome, and VAR rightly intervened, and the outcome was the red card.

“I would expect that referee Clancy should have seen and acted on this challenge without the input of VAR

“These are the big decisions that should be seen first time around.”

How long is Baningime now suspended for?

As a result of the red card, Baningime will now be suspended for Hearts’ upcoming Scottish Premiership fixtures against both Celtic and Dundee United.

However, the midfielder will be available against Falkirk in the Scottish Cup on Saturday, with suspensions only relating to the competition it happened in.

However, it remains to be seen if McInnes keeps Baningime in the starting XI after the challenge.

It was needless by the midfielder, and on another day, it could have cost Hearts big time in the race for the Scottish Premiership title.

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