Levein lashes fourth official
04 Dec 2007 - 07:12:19
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- Levein lashes fourth official
Dundee United head coach Craig Levein has played down his clash with fourth official Eddie Smith following his side's 1-0 home defeat by Inverness Caledonian Thistle.
Levein was upset by the attitude of Smith, despite having no complaints about referee Ian Brines' handling of the Tannadice encounter.
He told The Courier: "I went to shake the referee's hand and the fourth official started being over-fussy, even running to the police about me.
"I had asked him (Smith) why there had only been four minutes time added on when they'd had a player down for three minutes, there had been five substitutions and on four different occasions the referee had told Inverness players to hurry up.
"But he spoke to me like a child, which I didn't appreciate and because he got himself het up, he thought I was as well, which I wasn't.
"In no way was I abusive towards him, but for some reason he got all excited.
"But to be fair to Iain Brines I asked to see him 15 minutes later and he was good enough to have a chat with me.
"He explained where the four minutes came from and although I disagreed with him, I appreciated him taking the time and I have to say I thought he refereed the game fine."