The Josh Meekings ’ saga took a new twist on Friday when it emerged the SFA judicial panel had decided it was not entitled to apply retrospective punishment in his case . On Thursday , the Inverness defender was cleared to play in the Scottish Cup Final against Falkirk on May 30 after a charge of deliberate handball to deny Celtic striker Leigh Griffiths in last Sunday ’ s semi-final was thrown out . In the aftermath of the 3-2 extra-time win , Meekings admitted he was fortunate not to have conceded a penalty and been red-carded . Inverness defender Josh Meekings will be allowed to appear in Scottish Cup final after his ban was dismissed . His admission – backed by manager John Hughes – preceded the player being cited by the SFA compliance officer Tony McGlennan . That unprecedented move following a game in which a handball incident had gone unpunished , brought a warning from Jim Boyce , head of FIFA ’ s referees committee , that a successful prosecution would open up a can of worms . Although such a scenario was avoided with the charge being kicked out , the furore surrounding the issue prompted the SFA go public on Friday with the tribunal panel ’ s reasons . And it seems they accepted the preliminary argument of Inverness ’ legal representative that they weren ’ t entitled to take the matter further . A statement read : ‘ Further to the judicial panel hearing on Friday involving Josh Meekings , the panel considered initial submissions from Mr Meekings ’ solicitor . ‘ In particular it was argued by him that under protocol 13.4.1.1 the judicial panel was not entitled to determine the matter . Meekings was not sent off and no penalty was given as Inverness went on to beat Celtic 3-2 after extra-time . ‘ The panel considered that as the incident ( but not the actual alleged sending-off offence of handball ) had been seen by one or more of the officials it was not entitled to consider the matter further . ‘ It accordingly dismissed the complaint without any consideration of the merits of the incident or the decision arrived at by the referee. ’ The explanation raises questions as to whether McGlennan ought to have cited Meekings in the first place . Meekings admitted he was fortunate not to have conceded a penalty and been red-carded against Celtic . However , legal sources have told Sportsmail that the SFA ’ s prosecutor is entitled to cite players even in such instances when officials have seen an ‘ incident ’ but have failed to spot an ‘ offence ’ . Yet it appears that in Meekings ’ case , the panel concurred with his solicitor ’ s argument that they were not entitled to take the matter further as the match officials had seen the incident . The matter is further confused by the fact that former Hearts striker Ryan Stevenson and ex-Motherwell keeper Darren Randolph were previously banned retrospectively for serious foul play as the referees in question had seen the ‘ incidents ’ but missed the ‘ offences ’ in question .
Josh Meekings deliberately handled the ball during Inverness 's 3-2 Scottish Cup semi-final victory against Celtic . Meekings escaped punishment for the act during the game . In the aftermath of the 3-2 extra-time win , Meekings admitted he was fortunate not to have conceded a penalty and been red-carded . On Thursday , the Inverness defender was cleared to play in the Scottish Cup Final against Falkirk on May 30 .