Stuart McCall launched a scathing attack on referee Craig Charleston after his side’s League Cup exit at Hamilton.
The Motherwell boss is a key part of Gordon Strachan’s coaching team but branded Mark O’Brien’s red card as ‘an absolute joke’.
Motherwell lost out to their Lanarkshire rivals after extra-time and penalties with McCall scathing in his assessment of Charleston.
“I’ve never seen that in my entire life,” the Yorkshireman claimed. “O’Brien makes a tackle and the referee blows for half-time.
“We all came off the park and go in the dressing room, and the fourth official comes and says he wants to have a word with Mark O’Brien, after being harangued coming off the park. And then he calls him in and books him.
“Why didn’t he book him on the park? And I thought here we go, this is going to be typical. And the second yellow, he body-strengths him off the ball.
“The second yellow card is an absolute joke. It’s barely a foul and if that’s a yellow card I’m Dutch. You always think referees look to even things up and that decision swung the balance of the game.”
After three seasons of success at Fir Park McCall is facing a real battle this season with his side sitting third bottom of the table with just seven points from seven matches.
On Saturday Motherwell face Hamilton again, this time on league duty at Fir Park with the visitors sitting crossing the M74 seven points ahead of McCall’s side.
