Hearts have decided not to appeal Alex Cochrane’s red card from the 2-0 defeat at Tynecastle that clinched the cinch Premiership title for Celtic on Sunday.

The defender had his booking for a foul on Daizen Maeda upgraded to a sending-off after referee Nick Walsh was encouraged by VAR official Willie Collum to watch the incident again on the pitch-side monitor.

READ MORE: Shock Billy Gilmour Celtic transfer tip as midfielder is urged to avoid Rangers

Cochrane was deemed to have prevented a clear goal-scoring opportunity and was dismissed shortly before half-time with the score still goalless.

Interim Hearts boss Steven Naismith insisted after the match that Walsh’s original decision had been the right one and that his players had been ‘in disbelief’ at the red card as ‘Maeda still had a lot of work to do before he gets a finish’.

Hearts captain Lawrence Shankland feels there is still confusion over how and when the new technology can be used and would like there to be more clarity.

“I was surprised it got checked initially,” he said. “I thought he would maybe have checked it and stuck with his decision. When he gave him the yellow card, I thought it was dealt with.

“When I went to spoke to the referee he said there was no defender there covering. I took his word for it at the time.

“There hasn’t been much clarity in terms of those things and that is why there has been hiccups during the season. What is an obvious mistake and what isn’t? There is no real definition to that.

But, after reviewing the available video evidence, the Tynecastle outfit have decided against contesting the dismissal.

It means Cochrane will serve a two-match ban and will sit out Saturday’s trip to face St Mirren.

READ MORE: Charlie Nicholas dismisses needless Kyogo & Larsson Celtic comparison

But the second game of his punishment will not kick in until 14 days after Sunday’s incident, ensuring he will be free to face Aberdeen on May 20 before missing the trip to face Rangers four days later.

Glasgow Times:

Our Celtic Digest newsletter brings exclusive content directly to you rather than solely through the website. You can already find us on YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, TikTok and Instagram but we will also send bespoke opinion pieces and special features directly to your email inbox every evening. Not only will you receive this article from Sean Martin, Tony Haggerty or Aidan Macdonald (or, sometimes, from all three) but you will also get easy access to our best content from the last 24 hours too. It’s a great way to keep up to date with what’s happening at Ange Postecoglou’s Scottish champions. To sign up, simply take five seconds to type in your email here. Simple!