Reffin’ hell... SPFLmust take plunge to stop divers

TALKING CELTIC SAYS HEAD REF JOHN

SFA referee’s chief John Fleming says that only the introduction of video assistant referees will enable officials to weed out the cheats from Scottish football.

A row has been sparked after referee Don Robertson incorrectly awarded a penalty to Ross County in the closing stages of Sunday’s 2-2 draw with Celtic.

County forward Alex Schalk dived to the ground in the area despite no contact being made between him and the closest visiting player, Erik Sviatchenko.

With the match live on television, instant replays immediately showed that the decision by Robertson was clearly an error, but Fleming refused to criticise the County player for his actions in duping the official.

Instead, he says that it is time to realise that the game in Scotland is as open to gamesmanship like simulation from players as anywhere else, and he has urged the authorities to give their referees the tools they need to make the right decisions. “It’s an error from the referee, quite obviously, and it was identified very quickly when you look at the live footage,” Fleming said.

“It’s a good example of where a video assistant referee would clarify the situation very, very quickly.

“It’s simulation by the player. The players will adopt whatever tactics they adopt though, it’s up to my own department to see if we can identify the issues that are deemed to be unfair.

“As [Ross County manager] Jim McIntyre said, maybe the player anticipated contact, but that’s one of the criteria for simulation — the anticipation or initiation of contact. The player anticipated something and he went to ground.

“From our perspective, we need to make sure that the referee is in a good position to see that, and I’ve got to work with Don and the assistant referee to make sure they are in a good position when the two players come together to identify whether there is contact enough to put a player to ground or not.

“Don was in a good position, but he didn’t get the view he wanted, hence the reason why he still got it wrong and he gave the penalty-kick. There are things where t he video assistant referee would tell us matters of fact.

“Was it inside or outside the penalty area? Onside or offside? Over the line or not?

“Incidents like yesterday, when you l ook at the footage, it is clear that it is simulation. So, for an incident as clear-cut as that, then it can be identified by the video assistant referee.”

Despite successful trials of video assistants, though, it is unclear when Scottish referees will be able to lean on replays to assist them in getting the big calls right. “I’ve no idea when it might come in here, that’s a decision for the respective league bodies and the SFA to see if they want to put it into their cup competitions,” Fleming, left, said.

“From a referee’s point of view, though, there is no doubt that it would assist us.

“Anything that helps us get the right decision is important.

“There are plenty of trials going on around the world just now, some in cup competitions and some in leagues, so it is gathering momentum and there is a lot of positive feedback.

“Look at Spain against France a few weeks ago where there were two decisions overturned that the official had made and they were proven to be right to do so.”

FLEMING has, meanwhile, i nvited Brendan Rodgers, or any other manager, to give him a call if they want to discuss their grievances at any decision made by the country’s whistlers.

Anyone who watched the post-match interview given by Rodgers on Sunday would struggle to label the current climate as a high point in manager/referee relations in Scottish football.

Rodgers labelled the penalty call as “an embarrassing decision”, and left his interview with the print media with the ominous promise to speak to referee Don Robertson “if he lets the lock off his door.”

But Fleming thinks that the closer relationship between himself as head of the SFA’s refereeing department and the young up-and-coming managers in the SPFL Premiership, can lead to a new era of openness and transparency from officials, with Fleming himself happy to discuss any decisions with managers who feel aggrieved.

To that end, it’s a safe bet that he can expect a call from Rodgers any time soon.

“I wouldn’t speak about individual managers, but I see all managers here to be very positive in this day and age,” Fleming said.

“There will be incidents in the heat of the battle that somebody says something or whatever, but everyone is entitled to their view.

“In general, I find the managers to be very accommodating.

“When I go back to my own time in refereeing, everything was a bit more closed off, but nowadays the managers can have a dialogue with us.”