Football SHORTS: Romanov fined pounds 10k.

THE Scottish Football Association's Head of Referee Development, Donald McVicar, has refused to comment on the fine of pounds 10,000 imposed on Hearts majority shareholder Vladimir Romanov for criticising match officials. Comments by the Russian-born Lithuanian on the Gorgie club's official website in September referred to the conduct of officials during Hearts' successful Tennent's Scottish Cup run last season. Romanov said: "Last season, you didn't manage to protect the Scottish Cup and gave it to Hearts, despite all the referees' efforts and intrigues." The Tynecastle club were fined pounds 10,000 by the SFA in October after being found guilty of a disrepute charge for carrying the statement on their website. But an individual charge against Romanov was deferred at the meeting of the SFA's general purposes committee because the Lithuanian-based banker did not attend. Yesterday, the committee found that the statement was critical of referees and brought the game into disrepute. Romanov was fined pounds 10,000 for breaches of its Articles of Association.