Ever since I have been a Hearts fan it always seems that we have finished very low in the fair play league (link does not include final game). A league that tots up the amount of yellow and red cards that each team accumulates throughout a season and then if like Hearts they have accumulated a large amount then they will be fined accordingly. This has happened to Hearts in the previous two campaigns. This season alone Hearts managed to get 9 players sent off and 74 bookings in the SPL. A shocking amount considering there is only play 38 games in a season.

In comparison Rangers received 7 red cards but did not have nearly as many bookings as Hearts even though they reached the finals of both cup competitions. Don’t get me wrong 7 red cards is still a hell of a lot in one season but the fact it was in a season where Rangers played 68 games you can almost accept it.

Hearts were fined £20,000 earlier in the season due to an extremely high amount of players who were sent off in the previous 3 campaigns. They will be fined again for this year’s misdemeanors to the sum of £40,000.

Hearts managed to get 3 players sent off against Dundee United in January which does not help anyone’s record. This came straight after they had received an official warning from the SFA about their on field behavior.

Since 2005 Hearts have been fined for bad behavior on the pitch and this has to stop. They were fined £5,000 then, £10,000 in 2006, £20,000 in 2007 and of course the upcoming fine. This is such a waste of the clubs finances and frustrates so many people. The attitude of the players has to be questioned but it is not just in a Hearts top that this has occurred. Callum Elliot was sent off during a Scotland under 21’s game last week. 

It comes as no surprise that Hearts are wrapped in controversy as owner Vladimir Romanov has been at loggerheads with the SFA since he arrived at Tynecastle.

All I want is for us to stay out of the headlines for a while and try to stop the shambles that crops up time and time again.