Hartlepool United can confirm that they attended a disciplinary
hearing at Wembley on Monday relating to alleged misconduct by Craig Hignett
As part of the charge brought against Craig, it had been
suggested by the officials that he had used language which questioned their
integrity and was threatening in nature.During what was a very difficult afternoon for Craig, he
admitted to the panel that he had said things to the Referee and Fourth
Official out of frustration, for which he apologised - but he vehemently denied
the nature of his words as put forward by the officials.We are pleased that the panel found in the Club's favour on
this issue and, having accepted the misconduct charge surrounding his actual
words, Craig will now begin a two-game touchline ban.We would like to thank The Football Association for a fair
hearing and reiterate that we do not advocate swearing at referees from our
staff. However, we hope that people can understand the extraordinary
circumstances surrounding the fixture, which the Club has been seen to deal
with in the appropriate manner.