St Mirren Excludes Players Van Veen and Brown Amid Court Proceedings

Kevin van Veen and Jaden Brown have been excluded from St Mirren’s squad for Saturday’s Scottish Premiership fixture against Ross County. The club is currently investigating the players’ individual court appearances. Van Veen, a Dutch striker whose absence from Wednesday’s victory against St Johnstone was attributed by the Paisley club to an injury, has faced court on a domestic abuse charge. His case has been adjourned until November 28. Meanwhile, left-back Brown, aged 25, is scheduled for sentencing the day after Van Veen’s hearing, having pleaded guilty to three driving offences at Paisley Sheriff Court on Thursday. This development follows an earlier event this month where defender Shaun Rooney departed St Mirren through mutual agreement after being charged with assault in connection with an incident at a Glasgow takeaway. On Friday, subsequent to Brown’s court appearance, St Mirren issued a statement: “Given the findings of the court, the club requires to further its own ongoing investigation into the player’s actions. Jaden will not be available for Saturday’s match. We shall make no further comment at this point.” St Mirren also confirmed their awareness of the ongoing criminal investigation involving Van Veen. The club stated: “The club will conduct its own investigation into this matter and Kevin will not be available for Saturday’s match. We will make no further comment during this process.” The 33-year-old player is currently on loan from Groningen, having previously been on loan to Kilmarnock last season after transferring to the Dutch club from Motherwell. Brown, an Englishman, made a permanent move to St Mirren this summer, following a loan spell from Lincoln City last season. St Mirren manager Stephen Robinson acknowledged that “it’s been challenging on and off the pitch” but highlighted Wednesday’s 3-1 victory as proof of the team’s ability to overcome these difficulties. He further commented: “That’s what I am paid to do, worry about the football, pick the best team I can and get results and we had a terrific result on Wednesday night, a brilliant performance at Ibrox so things on the pitch are moving in the right direction and that is my sole focus.” Robinson maintained that his players “are in a positive frame of mind” and that “a really good atmosphere round the place” prevailed. Addressing the subject of players’ individual responsibilities, he added: “I am in control of the players for three or four hours of the day. People are grown adults, the football club is not in control of players 24 hours a day, but everyone is well aware of their responsibilities, how they should behave and the vast majority do.”