Kenny Dalglish this morning gave his take on the controversial decisions taken by the match official in the Hearts v Celtic Scottish Premiership match at Tynecastle last Sunday. And the former Celtic and Liverpool legend reckons that Brendan Rodgers had every right to say what he did afterwards, as King Kenny hit out at the Scottish FA for their silence on the matter this week.
Blatant mistakes
“It’s not right that Brendan Rodgers has been charged by the SFA for his comments after Celtic lost 2-0 to Hearts,” Kenny Dalglish stated in his weekly column in today’s Sunday Post. “He highlighted some blatant mistakes in that 90 minutes that cost his side. I’m sure any other manager would have done the same.
“Having watched the incidents several times, referee Don Robertson and his VAR, John Beaton, got it horribly wrong.
In my day, that would have been an indirect free-kick
“Yang shouldn’t have been red-carded for his high challenge on Harry Cochrane. There was no aggression or malice in his attempt to play the ball. In my day, that would have been an indirect free-kick. Don just about called it a right with his initial decision of a yellow card. There was no need for VAR to become involved.
“Then, towards half-time, the Jambos were awarded a penalty for a handball against Tomoki Iwata. That’s one of the worst calls I’ve seen in a long, long time. It was never a penalty. For VAR to get involved was outrageous. It then defies belief that the referee agreed with his colleague.”
King Kenny’s comments about the Scottish FA are absolutely spot on.
No accountability for Scottish referees
“Scottish football has heard nothing from the SFA on the game at Tynecastle. Surely there should be an explanation as to why the decisions made last weekend were the right ones. However, not a single word. Indeed, it looks as though some of the people in charge in the corridors of power of Hampden are hiding in their offices.
“Is there no accountability for Scottish referees? Surely, that can’t be allowed. If it is, the whole system needs to be reviewed very quickly. Yet, they are happy to haul Brendan up for highlighting some obvious errors.”
