Jack MacKenzie breaks silence on atrocious flying seat injury as Aberdeen Scottish Cup hero confesses 'I got lucky'
The defender was badly hurt and needed stitches and carried off the pitch after the shocking incident after the whistle
Scottish Cup hero Jack MacKenzie has urged Scottish football to learn its lessons and make sure the ugly injury he suffered at Tannadice never happens again.
The defender was badly hurt after he was hit from a flying seat that was allegedly thrown from the Aberdeen support, after their final day Premiership defeat at Dundee United.
MacKenzie needed stitches and had to be carried off the pitch after the horror incident and hopes the authorities can stamp out such flashpoints in the future.
The left-back, speaking in an exclusive interview with Record Sport, stated: 'That incident we all want to forget about it and to move on, but we need to look at the serious side of things, where it needs to be taken out of football.
'It is something that needs to be looked at. 'You don't want to see an incident like that again.'
The 25-year-old might have been struck but he claimed he was lucky. He also knows it could have been far worse if it had hit one of the young Dundee United fans who were beside him.
The incident happened after some of the United fans ran on to the pitch to celebrate their win and European qualification.
MacKenzie, who is set to join Plymouth on freedom of contract, admitted: 'There were little Dundee United supporting kids beside me, who were maybe 10 or 11 years old.
'If it had hit them on the head then we could have been looking at something completely horrendous.
'I was unlucky that it hit me but I also got lucky that it didn't cause me even more damage.'
The defender admitted the aftermath of the incident was the hardest of his career, from the incident to the fear that it would cost him his Hampden farewell in the Scottish Cup Final against Celtic.
Luckily, he was fit and managed to help Aberdeen lift the cup.
He explained: 'The week before was probably one of the hardest he had had in football. It was tough.
'I just feared that could be the note I was leaving the club on and I just didn't want that. I wasn't nice for my family, my teammates or myself.
'There was a concern. I didn't train much at the start of the week because the stitches hadn't closed up as much as we hoped they would.
'I was also lucky I didn't get a concussion. An inch lower and it could have hit my eye and it could have been worse but all I ever wanted to do was be involved in the final. When I got the green light to play it was a relief.
'I wouldn't say it has been forgotten about but winning the Scottish Cup definitely outshines that.'
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