Michael Beale insists he has sympathy for Aberdeen in their stance with the Scottish FA over Graeme Shinnie's ban.

The 31-year-old was sent off during last week's 1-0 win for the Dons over Ross County.

Referee Euan Anderson initially didn't award anything for the 50-50 challenge between Shinnie and County defender Baldwin.

However, after VAR intervened, the on-field official changed his mind after reviewing the incident at the pitchside monitor and brandished a red card to the midfielder.

The Dons appealed the decision for a case of wrongful dismissal but it was thrown out by the review panel.

Their captain was then automatically hit with a two-match ban for serious foul play with another game added due to the fact it was his second red card of the season.

He was then dealt an added blow and handed an extra game due to the appeal being unsuccessful.

This means Shinnie will be absent from Aberdeen's game against Rangers at Pittodrie this Sunday, as well as the club's first three post-split fixtures.

But Rangers boss Beale feels sorry for the Pittodrie club as he reckons any added punishment is unfair.

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He said: "I have not seen the challenge but what I would say is I don’t like this idea that if you ask a question then you get more.

“The ban is the ban. I don’t think you should be penalised more for asking the question. That seems a little bit harsh to me. I wouldn’t want that for one of my players.

“Graeme is a committed player. He plays in the middle of midfield and has to make tackles and go for challenges.

“As I say, I haven’t seen it, but either way, if you appeal, you are asking a question, and you shouldn’t get penalised more.

“It is like we don’t want people to appeal. We have to look at that.”

The Dons said in a statement: "Following our request to the Scottish FA for Graeme Shinnie’s appeal to be re-heard by a freshly constituted fast-track tribunal, we have been informed that this has been dismissed.

"We now have no further recourse, so Graeme will miss the next four Scottish Premiership matches.

"We have taken the temperature of several Premiership clubs and will now pro-actively work with clubs and the Scottish FA to bring about sensible and positive governance changes.

"Supporters, the lifeblood of our game, deserve to see a consistency and transparency in decision-making.

"Aberdeen FC is ready to play its part in a constructive and timely manner."