MOTHERWELL have announced that they will not appeal the red card shown to Carl McHugh against Hearts on Saturday as it would be 'a waste of time and money'.

The midfielder was sent off on the 53rd minute of the Steelmen's 3-0 loss at Fir Park following a challenge on Don Cowie.

In a club statement, Motherwell said that the failure of their recent appeal against Scott McDonald's red card against Rangers convinced them not to challenge this time.

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However, the Fir Park outfit revealed they have asked the Scottish FA's Head of Operations John Fleming for 'clarity on the guidelines surrounding serious foul play and in particular, “excessive force”' after spotting 'significant inconsistencies' in SPFL Premiership matches this season.

"The club decided not to appeal the red card shown to Carl McHugh on the 53rd minute of last Saturday’s match at Fir Park," read the statement.

"The recent experience with Scott McDonald’s appeal for a similar sort of offence, with the onus being on the club to prove an obvious refereeing error, convinced management that, although we greatly respect the process and the individuals involved, any further appeal would not only be futile, but also a waste of the club’s time and money.

"The club has subsequently written to the Scottish FA’s Head of Referee Operations to seek clarity on the guidelines surrounding serious foul play and in particular, “excessive force”.

"From a club’s point of view, given a fairly broad set of criteria has been issued by the International Football Association Board (IFAB) when judging a challenge during the intensity of a match, it’s now so open to individual interpretation by each match official it could and has lead to significant inconsistencies across games.

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"A number of challenges in various SPFL Premiership matches (and high profile matches in other major leagues) over the last few weeks would more than meet the criteria both Scott McDonald and Carl McHugh were judged by, and subsequently ordered off for, but only cautions were issued.

"This causes a great deal of confusion and frustration for our playing staff, coaching staff and supporters, and it is making it increasingly difficult to say with any certainty what is and isn’t a red card offence when talking about ‘excessive force’.

"Everyone involved in football understands that, at times, clubs will be on the end of honest mistakes or incorrect calls, it is part and parcel of the game. In addition, it is also acknowledged and accepted that match officials do not set the laws of the game, only enforce them.

"However, that means they need to be applied consistently across the board and any law or criteria that allows for such a broad scope of individual interpretation is, in Motherwell FC’s view, a flawed one.

"In addition, the club has also asked for, and has been granted, time with the Scottish FA’s Head of Referee Operations to go through with the playing squads some of the recent examples which have merited a red card and those that, for what look like identical offences, have only been issued with a caution to explain what, if any, differences there are and detail fully what IFAB advise when considering excessive force.

"Motherwell FC very much appreciates this time and look forward to that meeting in the coming weeks."