EASTERN winger Ross Greer has escaped the wrath of the Hongkong Football Association after being leniently penalised for his infamous head-butt on South China defender George Haniotis in the final of last month's Camelpaint Challenge Shield.
The disciplinary committee last night banned Greer for just one match for the incident, which was seen by a capacity crowd of 8,500 at the Mongkok Stadium and was televised live.
Greer, who scored Eastern's fourth goal in a 4-0 rout of South China which gave his team their first trophy in six years, was sent off for the head-butt, which left the South China defender with a broken nose.
Haniotis was stunned by the verdict, saying that justice had not been done.
He said: ''I'm very surprised that he has been given a one-match ban. He broke my nose and he deserves more than a one-match ban.
''It's not the fact that he broke my nose that I'm annoyed about but the fact that it was an unfair decision. If the HKFA do not stand against violence, what do they stand for? ''In the Australian league, an offence like that would normally be a minimum of six matches.'' Disciplinary committee chairman Yau Shue-pui of Third Division team Kowloon Fruit accepted the fact that Greer had been provoked by Haniotis.
Greer will miss Eastern's League match against Kitchee next Tuesday and is expected to be replaced by Cheung Kam-wah.