Source: FOOTYMAD
Controversial Decisions Again? The Official View
More controversy at New Douglas Park. Controversial refereeing in Scotland is paramount this season. Celtic manager Neil Lennon appears to be at the forefront with his criticism of match officials. Already with a six match touchline ban imposed, he pulled no punches after last nights 1-1 draw with Hamilton at New Douglas Park. Referee Willie Collum who awarded the ‘back to the play’ penalty to Rangers in the first old firm match of the season at Ibrox was again Lennon’s target.As an ex referee and linesman, I would like to analyse the main points in this match. Hopefully this will help the majority understand the decisions, whether you agree with them or not. With controversy engulfing our game, match officials are coming under fire more and more. As a result I would like to offer my views on a regular basis on this website in an effort to explain in my opinion why certain decisions have been made. On to last night match:First of all we have the Hamilton goal which resulted from Rogne pulling back Mensing. Free kick awarded – correct decision.From the free kick Canning was clearly in an offside position and interfering with an opponent as he was blocking the goalkeepers view. Goal awarded – Incorrect decision.LAW 2. OFFSIDEA player in an offside position is only penalised if, at the moment the ball touches or is played by one of his team, he is, in the opinion of the referee, involved in active play by:Interfering with playorinterfering with an opponentorgaining an advantage by being in that position.I feel that better positioning by the referee and his assistant would have helped in getting the correct decision. Referee should have taken up a position for offside and instructed his assistant to go to the goal line to judge on ball crossing the line as this was a direct free kick (holding an opponent). In this case however, the referee chose to stand on the edge of the penalty area and instructed the assistant to take up a position for offside.Now the three sendings off.The first was for Forrest (Celtic) for a lunge on Buchannan. The referee was correct to send him off. Offence Serious Foul Play.Reason: A tackle, which endangers the safety of an opponent must be sanctioned as serious foul play which is an ordering off offence.McAllister (Hamilton) tackle on Wilson. Referee decision – Correct. Again serious foul play, endangering the safety of an opponent.Mensing (Hamilton) referee decision correct. The referee was correct to award a penalty and send Mensing off as he clearly prevented an obvious goal scoring opportunity.The disallowed Celtic goal near the end was again a correct decision. TV pictures clearly show the ball going out of play from the corner kick before returning for Stokes to head into the goal.So in a match apparently filled with controversy, the referee got one major decision wrong and that was to allow the Hamilton goal to stand. This in itself is a very serious error from the officials concerned as it turned out to be a ‘match changing decision’ and will not be looked upon favourably by the match observer and SPL match delegate.That won’t make Mr Lennon feel any better and will probably just fuel his fire for his ongoing war with the SFA and it’s match officials. Editor Ger Harley (ger@scottishfitba net)Admin Team (admin@scottishfitba net)This is Scottish-Fitba Net
