Referee Dougie McDonald lied over Celtic penalty, admit SFA
Stewart Regan, the chief executive of the Scottish Football Association, last night admitted that Dougie McDonald had lied in the initial version of events he gave to the referee observer after the recent league match between Dundee United and Celtic at Tannadice.
McDonald awarded Celtic a penalty for Dusan Pernis’ challenge on Gary Hooper, only to rescind it after a discussion with Steven Craven, his assistant. After the match, which Celtic won 2-1, McDonald said Craven, who subsequently resigned as an official, had called him over and persuaded him to overturn his decision.
But McDonald told the SFA’s referee committee yesterday that after he blew for an infringement, he himself realised immediately that he might have got it wrong.
Regan launched an investigation after Celtic wrote to the SFA asking for an explanation. The committee decided yesterday that McDonald had been right to rescind the penalty but ruled that the “post-match administrative process” had been far from satisfactory.
Regan conceded that McDonald had said things “that weren’t true” but insisted that the referee’s motive was only to try to protect Craven from criticism. His resignation was reportedly because he was disgruntled at the manner in which the SFA and McDonald had handled the affair.
Regan said: “What he [McDonald] said at that time was not the correct information. Dougie came off and gave information to the referee observer about what had happened in that process. You can call it a lie if you wish. I think there’s acceptance that Dougie said things in the heat of the moment that weren’t true.
“The view of our committee was that he had acted on the spur of the moment and did something he fully regretted. I don’t think Dougie was trying to implicate Steven Craven in his mistake.
Dougie came off and gave information to the referee observer about what had happened in that process. You can call it a lie if you wish.
Stewart Regan
“That was Dougie trying to protect his assistant referee. Steven was potentially going to be marked down for getting involved in that particular incident and Dougie was trying to protect his role in all of that. But the process was messy. The post-admin process, we’ve said, has got to have clear articulation on what has happened in the match. That’s got to be set out clearly.”
McDonald received a warning but is free to continue officiating. He will be fourth official at tomorrow’s match between Hearts and Kilmarnock.
Regan said: “Dougie has apologised to everybody. He has apologised to Steven, to the SFA, his family, and the referees’ association, and he is full of remorse. This is a guy with 29 years’ experience and an unblemished record. He is one of Scotland’s leading referees and made a decision that took a lot of guts. He wanted to make the right decision for the good of football.”
Regan insisted Craven’s resignation was not entirely linked to events at Tannadice but conceded the former official had been unhappy with the way in which his role in the affair had been explained.
“Steven was disappointed in the way Dougie articulated the incident and the whole episode had been played out in the media after the match. One of the concerns Steven had was his role in this whole matter had not been fully articulated and not made clear to the referee observer and we looked at that in the investigation. Dougie hasn’t accepted responsibility for Steven’s resignation. His resignation covers other matters and we are looking at those.”
Hooper: referees want to give decisions against Celtic
[video]http://video.stv.tv/?bcpid=37654293001&bctid=659274687001[/video]
Gary Hooper believes Scottish referees give decisions disproportionately against Celtic.
The striker, who was at the centre of the controversial refereeing call in his team’s recent win at Dundee United, was asked during a press conference at Lennoxtown whether he felt that "there was a disproportionate amount of decisions" that went against Celtic. He answered: "Yes, I think so, yes. Because we are one of the biggest teams in the world. Everyone wants to beat us, all the teams, and the referee wants to give a decision againt us so he can say something after the game"
The English forward, a summer signing from Scunthorpe United, was the man who went down in the box under Dundee United goalkeeper Dusan Pernis’ challenge in the match almost three weeks ago, leading to referee Dougie McDonald pointing to the spot.
The circumstances surrounding McDonald’s decision to rescind that penalty award sparked an investigation by the Scottish Football Association, which revealed that the referee had lied over the decision making process.
Celtic have written to the SFA to demand an explanation over the incident but are still awaiting a formal reply. Hooper said he was only giving his own opinion and said that the rest of the team did not talk about such matters in the dressing room.
“The ref, he's made a mistake, he's come out and lied about it, said he's lied and you've just got to let other people deal with it. We deal with the football, winning points and pushing up the table.”
The Tannadice penalty decision was reversed by McDonald, who originally claimed he changed his mind after being summoned by his linesman, Steven Craven, to challenge the decision. However, it later emerged that McDonald instead sought his own clarification from Craven, unprompted, despite having told his original story to Celtic boss Neil Lennon and referees observer Jim McBurney.
Though warned over the inconsistencies in his reporting, McDonald was praised by the SFA for eventually making the correct decision in not giving Celtic a penalty. However, Hooper is still adamant that his team should have had the opportunity to go 2-1 up, insisting he was fouled before goalkeeper Pernis touched the ball.
“Yes, he [Pernis]'s got me first and then the ball,” Hooper said. “I'm admitting he got the ball but he got me first and taken me down first and pushed the ball away. But it doesn't matter now.
“It's been three weeks now, we've had the Old Firm game in between that and we're still talking about it more than the Old Firm game.”
When pressed further on whether he felt McDonald should stand down after failing to tell the truth in the first instance, Hooper responded: “It's up to him. It depends what they decide. As I said, he's lied, he's said to the paper he's lied to the gaffer and lied to everyone else, so it's a big decision.”
