Houston slams the honest mistakes that blighted Dundee United

Terrors now have to replay against the Ibrox men

It is always better to let the dust settle on some things (unless its furniture) so Peter Houston, quite wisely waited until he had digested the penalty decisions given against his team at Ibrox before commenting too much. And not for the first time this season, the word “honest” was brought in to describe a referee.

It is just as well that Scottish referees are honest because if they were corrupt on top of their incompetence, the game would be in the gutter!

Houston had this to say;

“I am disappointed and I just wonder if the penalties would have been given at the other end. I hope they would have been.

Dougie is an honest referee in normal circumstances, I think he is one of the best in Scotland.

But I was disappointed that he got there early to give the penalty kicks.”

Arriving early is something that Dougie McDonald is gathering a reputation for. In fact, some observers say that the haste with which he set out to send off Scott Brown, without consultation of an assistant referee, in the recent Rangers v Celtic game was questionable as well.

By the letter of the law, Brown has moved towards an opponent in an aggressive manner and the red was always an option, however, the way in which Kyle Lafferty avoided any such blame or punishment was curious, to say the least.

So, given that he has now reffed two big games at Ibrox, was it wise to give Dougie McDonald them both? With the rules of the Scottish Cup, McDonald will be in charge of the Tannadice replay. Will he be able to referee the game with a clear mind?

You would think that with human nature being what it is, there would be something in the back of your mind telling you to even things up. There hasn’t been much evidence of that this campaign…but perhaps it has happened to Dundee United in Glasgow this season?

Near the start of the season, Dundee United visited Celtic Park and were defending resolutely to hold onto a 1-1 score line when Darren Dods indulged in a bit of basketball play in his own penalty area. The referee deemed that it was only a corner, which led Craig Levein to express a disappointment that his player never caught the ball!

That was a great point for Dundee United and an early blow for Celtic’s title assault..which of course, has withered and died at an alarming early rate. It just goes to show though, perhaps the pundits are right when they say these things balance out over the course the season.

Or not?

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.