It’s stupid, I’m sorry for diving, says Schalk
SHAME-FACED Alex Schalk yesterday apologised for his shocking dive against Celtic and vowed to take the punishment on the chin.
The embarrassed Ross County striker won’t appeal against the two-game SFA disciplinary ban meted out for Sunday’s penalty-box tumble against the Hoops.
The Dutchman’s action tricked referee Don Robertson with Celtic defender Erik Sviatchenko shown to have made no contact whatsoever.
With Liam Boyce tucking away the late spot-kick, the Dingwall team earned a precious point from Sunday’s 2-2 draw, strengthening their Premiership survival chances.
Schalk said: “I really want to apologise, obviously to the referee, to Celtic and to the fans.
“I’ve seen it back and it’s stupid. I don’t know what I was thinking. There was no contact and I just want to say sorry, really. It will never happen again. I’m not a diver. I’ve never dived before, never been booked for diving before. I don’t know where it came from.
“Like I said, it was stupid. It is done now so I can’t change it anymore.
“I just need to go from here and, whatever happens, I’ll take it on the chin and move on from there.”
Schalk has hit eight goals for County this season and just over a year ago struck the League Cup Final winning goal against Hibernian.
By speaking out, the 24-year-old hoped to draw a line under the incident.
He said: “I did expect contact. These kind of situations happen. I anticipated it and was waiting on him to contact me and it never came, obviously, because he’s a very clever player.
“I know my apology won’t change anything, but I do want to apologise, especially to the referee, Celtic and the fans.”