St Mirren’s manager, Stephen Robinson, has publicly defended Charles Dunne’s recent tackle on Mika Biereth, the Arsenal forward on loan at Motherwell.

The incident, which resulted in a three-month injury for Biereth, has sparked controversy and debate.

Robinson, however, insists that there was no malicious intent involved, while Motherwell’s manager, Stuart Kettlewell, has expressed anger over the tackle.

• St Mirren manager Stephen Robinson defended Charles Dunne over a tackle that injured Motherwell’s Mika Biereth, calling it unintentional.
• Motherwell boss Stuart Kettlewell was outraged, describing the tackle as “absolutely horrendous,” while Dunne apologised and claimed he slipped [see the tackle here]
• Robinson drew parallels to previous incidents, noting that injuries like the knee injury to Jonah Ayunga were also without malice, highlighting the unpredictable nature of football.

A tackle by St Mirren player Charles Dunne on Motherwell’s Mika Biereth, an Arsenal loanee, in last week’s 1-0 Viaplay Cup defeat in Paisley, has triggered a debate.

The tackle has left Biereth out for three months with a knee injury.

Motherwell’s manager, Stuart Kettlewell, did not mince his words when describing the tackle as “absolutely horrendous,” and was angered that Dunne only received a yellow card.

In a statement ahead of Motherwell’s cinch Premiership game against Kilmarnock, Kettlewell said: “My opinion hasn’t changed. I hear some ridiculous arguments of ‘ah, but he took the ball’… If you have to come through the player and both your legs are wrapped around the standing leg…”

However, Charles Dunne, who used to play for Motherwell, explained on social media that the incident was accidental: “I only had eyes for the ball and won the ball, but unfortunately I slipped, that’s what caught him.”

St Mirren’s manager, Stephen Robinson, supported Dunne during a pre-match media conference for the visit of Aberdeen on Sunday. He referenced a similar incident involving the Buddies’ Ryan Strain in the same game and recalled the knee injury that Jonah Ayunga suffered against Motherwell in January, which still keeps him out.

Robinson stated: “There is absolutely no malice, he has got the ball and slipped with his back leg. I am sure if Stuart sees it back with the angle I have seen it he will know that.”

He continued to emphasise that injuries can happen in football without any malicious intent. Commenting on another tackle in the same match, he added, “there is another tackle straight after that nobody seemed to mention that was a heck of a lot worse, that we were thankful that Ryan Strain didn’t get injured from but we move on, that’s football.”

Concluding his defence of Dunne, Robinson praised the player’s character, saying, “Charles is a super boy. There is no malice in Charles.”

He’s just ‘not that kind of player’, I guess.

They never are…