Former Town academy defender Josh Meekings is free to play in the Scottish Cup final after the notice of complaint served against the Inverness Caledonian Thistle centre-half was dismissed at an SFA judicial panel tribunal this afternoon.
Bury St Edmunds-born Meekings was handed the shock retrospective one-match ban for handling and denying a goal during Caley’s semi-final victory over Celtic on Sunday.
Leigh Griffiths’s goal-bound header clearly struck the 22-year-old's arm with the score at 1-0, an incident was missed by referee Steven MacLean and his fellow officials. Inverness went on to win 3-2 to set up a final against Falkirk on May 30th.
Following the success of the appeal Inverness chairman Kenny Cameron said in a statement: "The club is delighted for Josh that the judicial panel tribunal dismissed the complaint brought against him.
"Josh will now be available for selection for the Cup final on 30th May 2015 v Falkirk FC. The result means that the club can now fully appreciate the achievement of reaching its first ever Scottish Cup final and focus on preparations for Saturday's game versus Aberdeen.”
Meekings came through the Town academy and skippered the U18s before joining Inverness, then managed by Ipswich legend Terry Butcher, following his release by the Blues in the summer of 2011.
After news of the retrospective ban broke Meekings received support from from fans throughout Scotland and from further afield. The defender has thanked those backing him via Twitter.
I have seen the support from various clubs fans and I'm very thankful. I can look forward to the final now, and get ready for Saturday!
— Josh Meekings (@JoshMeekings6) April 23, 2015