Source: FOOTYMAD
Butcher Cries Foul
Referees can't win and are accused of being pressurised to give awards. Inverness manager Terry Butcher was not a happy bunny after his side were knocked out of the Scottish Cup at the quarter-final stage by Celtic last night. He felt his team were harshly treated by referee Mike Tumilty during the game. Butcher was surprised that Glenn Loovens was not sent off or even booked after bringing down Richie Foran inside the box to allow Adam Rooney to score with a 44th-minute penalty and take Inverness into the lead. Joe Ledley levelled for Celtic in first half extra time before heading a 68th-minute winner following a free-kick by Ki Sung-Yueng. However, Butcher felt Stuart Duff had been harshly penalised for a challenge on Emilio Izaguirre to give away the free-kick in the first place. Butcher also revealed his frustration with the way Celtic players went down during the quarter-final game.Butcher said: "I'm sick for my players. I thought we deserved more than we got out of the game. There were a couple of decisions that have gone against us. Although we got the penalty, no action was taken against the Celtic player that denied my player a chance of a goal. Four officials didn't see who committed the foul on Richie Foran. Had it happened at the other end, I'm sure we would have had one of our players sent off - not that we want to look for players to be sent off." On the free-kick leading to the winner, Butcher said: "Had it happened the other end it wouldn't have been given. The Celtic fans jumped up and down and screamed and shouted as they do and the referee gives it and books my player as well when the ball was already out before the player hit the deck, so I just think the referee has got to be a bit stronger. There were a lot of fouls given against us tonight through minimum contact I felt. My players had a lesson on players who get a touch and then they're down. My players are looking at what it's like at one of the top clubs in Britain and saying 'if that's they play then that's the way we have to play' - if you can't beat them, join them." The Inverness boss admitted Ledley's equaliser was soft after the Wales midfielder was afforded space to finish off Izaguirre's cross, but he was otherwise delighted with his team's performance. Butcher said: "That was Celtic's first effort on goal in the first half. We have had the best chances in the first half. We had some great chances in the second half. Their keeper has had to work harder than my keeper. I thought my players were terrific, they kept a good shape, picked off Celtic with passes and got in behind them. Fraser Forster has made an unbelievable save from (Shane) Sutherland when it was 1-1." Celtic first-team coach Alan Thompson, standing in for manager Neil Lennon at the 'meet the media' post-game session, declared his satisfaction with his team. He said: "It was a tough game, but we knew coming up here that it would be difficult, especially as Inverness have such a good record against the Old Firm. However, I was delighted with the way we controlled the game. The response to going 1-0 down was fantastic and I think that said a lot about the team. Inverness had a game plan to play deep and drop off. We had a lot of possession, but didn't create too many chances, although in saying that Fraser Forster only had one save to make in the second half." Editor Ger Harley (ger@scottishfitba.net)Admin Team (admin@scottishfitba.net)This is Scottish-Fitba.Net
