Hugh Dallas has continued his round of media interviews today like a by-election candidate on the run up to polling day.
Fresh from his appearance on Radio Clyde he was interviewed for the BBC website and like any politician decided to add a little bit more to the story.
The latest twist to the events at Tannadice on Sunday is that Neil Lennon spent some time with Dougie McDonald in the referee’s room and apparently ‘Neil accepted that the decision was correct. ‘
Who knows what revelations tomorrow and the lead up to Sunday will bring from the SFA’s refereeing guru.
For all of Dallas’s undoubted talents and media skills the only person that could come up with that statement is Lennon himself.
Most Celtic supporters would be amazed if Lennon left Tannadice on Sunday feeling that his side hadn’t deserved a penalty in the Hooper/Pernis incident.
According to Dallas: “Neil Lennon took the time to go to the referee’s dressing-room about 40 minutes after the match was concluded.
“They had a discussion and Neil accepted that the decision was correct. It was just unusual. I think Neil was extremely frustrated that he did not have the opportunity to get an explanation at that time, which is not possible.
“He received a full explanation, which he found acceptable after the match.”
In his latest interview once again there is no breakdown from Dallas as to why it wasn’t a penalty- Pernis’ reckless challenge for the ball denied Hooper the opportunity to have a goalscoring opportunity.
The laws of the game are open to interpretation but there is no law quoted by Dallas to help explain the decision to supporters unfamiliar with the exact wording.
Neither does Dallas give any sort of adaquate explanation as to how an assistant referee much further from the incident and at a worse angle could view the incident better than one of Dallas’s favourite refrees.
“Dougie sets his standards very high, but in my opinion he was right not to award the penalty,” Dallas claimed.
“Referees have to make a decision in a split second and I think, in this instance, he has managed to collect his thoughts and other information within 10 or 15 seconds.”
If McDonald had taken 10 or 15 seconds at Ibrox in February to consult his assistant after Kyle Lafferty hit the deck then Scott Brown may have avoided a red card.
As well as avoiding giving an explanation quoting from the laws of the game Dallas again avoided explaining assistant referee Steven Craven’s movements.
Craven seemed to be in agreement with the penalty decision as he dashed to the corner flag then moved along the by-line preparing his position for the expectant penalty.
Surely if he had any doubt about the penalty he would have stayed in his original position and raised his flag to draw the referee’s attention.
If that had happened, whilst hardly being acceptable to Celtic supporters, it would have confirmed that there was some doubt about the decision.
Craven gave no indication about any doubts about the award until all of a sudden he had a better view on it than the referee who was much closer to the contact.
Lennon will no doubt give his version of exactly what happened after the match when he is interviewed to preview Sunday’s match with Rangers.
Rather than constantly attempting to justify the actions of Sunday’s officials Dallas would be better served putting a statement on the SFA website every Monday morning to explain controversial decisions.
Managers, players and supporters all make mistakes. When a match official gets things wrong, as Dougie McDonald did on Sunday, admitting to it and giving an explanation would go a small way towards refusing the anger of supporters.
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Our esteemed chief of referees Hugh Dallas went to great lengths on Radio Clyde recently to explain that getting the ball first didn’t preclude committing a foul.
That if a player in getting to the ball went through an opponent it was still a foul whether he got the ball or not.
He then smugly added that football fans and players just didn’t understand the rules.
It would appear that the rules have been dramatically changed or Wee Shug has simply changed his mind.
It’s gone way beyond whether it was a penalty or not…..this is about Celtic FC being treated as the village idiots ..once again.
My simple take on this is……
Had this incident involved the Dark Side….then do I honestly believe that the same decision would have been taken ?? ….NO I DON’T ….and that’s what needs to be sorted in our game…..we are seen as a soft touch and it needs to stop.
Now whether Lenny chooses , publicly, to dispute Dallas’ claim…or whether the incident is disputed at a higher club level….I don’t care…
as long as someone at Celtic FC demands a re-visit of the incident and a full explanation of why these “rules ” were applied in this instance..
we have to keep reminding these people that we will no longer tolerate rules for one and not the other.
Where’s Wee Fergus when you need him ??
The thing that I find strange is listening to Dallas on Radio Clyde he stated he never seen the whole game at that time but was able to give McDonald his full backing.
Now correct me if am wrong but there was a further 3 penalty claims which no one on radio Clyde asked him about.
Not to mention Goodwillies gesturing to the Celtic support or is this just being petty because only Celtic players can be booked for this offence.