News: Fatah and Camara appeals dismissed, transfer latest and Hibs preview
Amar Farah and Pan Camara unavailable for next two league games and United welcome final January signing.
Fatah and Camara out of next two league games
Amar Fatah and Pan Camara will both be out of commission for Dundee United’s next two league games as appeals to rescind their red cards have been rejected.
Fatah and Camara were both sent down the tunnel on Saturday’s 0-3 drubbing by Hearts at Tannadice.
Fatah’s accidental, mistimed challenge on Marc Leonard saw the 21-year-old sent off after an intervention from VAR, while Camara was punished later for a confrontation with Leonard when tempers flared on the pitch.
A fizzing Jim Goodwin criticised both decisions after the game, adding: “If I can’t appeal both of those, we’re going without two really key players and that’s something we can’t afford at this crucial stage of the season.”
But he will have to head to Easter Road without them as United confirmed on Tuesday night that the SFA had rejected both appeals after two fast track tribunals.
St Mirren, who appealed against a red card given to Jake Young at the weekend, also had their claim dismissed.
🗨️ Dundee United’s crazy clash with Hearts was a prime example of VAR ruining the game, argues Lee Willkie (The Courier, £).
Speaking ahead of tomorrow’s trip to Edinburgh, Goodwin said he stood by the remarks he made after the Hearts game, saying: “The whole club, from top to bottom is in agreement: we owe it to players and supporters to appeal these decisions. We don’t feel they were right, it’s as simple as that.”
Goodwin said he agreed with the referee’s original decision on Fatah’s challenge — “by the letter of the law, that should be a yellow card” — but was particularly incensed with the referee’s decision to send off Camara.
He said: “The more I watch it back, the more angry I get by the whole decision. If VAR can step in for the Amar Fatah challenge, I don’t know why it can’t stand in and say that the Hearts player has made a meal of it.
“You could give [Camara] a yellow card for needlessly getting involved, but our young striker Owen Stirton was getting dragged all over the place by senior players from the opposition and I think Pan feels that he has every right to go in there and defend his teammate.”
‘Aggressive’midfielder Emmanuel Agyei completes January signings
The signing of midfielder Emmanuel Agyei, from Israeli Premier League club Ashdod, has completed Dundee United’s January incomings.
The 21-year-old Ghanian has joined Tannadice on a permanent deal, believed to be a multi-year contract.
Agyei has played 27 times for the Israeli top-flight outfit after arriving in the Middle-East in the summer of 2024, with nine appearances during a loan spell at Hapoel Ramat Gan.
He was the final arrival of the winter transfer window following the signings of winger Neil Farrugia and goalkeeper Ashley Maynard-Brewer.
Jim Goodwin described Agyei as an “athletic” and “very aggressive” midfielder who “will add real strength and depth” to the squad.
He said: “Emmanuel is a player whose energy and willingness to play forward quickly caught our attention.
“He’s comfortable receiving the ball under pressure and has shown he can operate in different roles, whether that’s sitting in front of the backline or playing in a more advanced, box-to-box position.
“We’re confident he’ll adapt well to the demands of Scottish football and give us energy, composure and athleticism in the middle of the park, and the statistical evidence supports our view.”