Former Grade 1 referee Charlie Richmond has broken rank to slam the SFA for failing to punish Allan McGregor.
At lunchtime yesterday work leaked out of Hampden that no action would be taken against the Scotland keeper for kicking out at Kris Ajer during Sevco’s 1-0 defeat from Celtic on Sunday.
The incident was apparently missed by Willie Collum and assistant Frank Connor but picked up clearly by Sky Sports cameras as thousands of Celtic fans screamed for a penalty.
McGregor should have been booked or sent off with Celtic getting a penalty but it took until the 62nd minute before Celtic finally took the lead.
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— Mr Henrik ???????????????? (@davbhoy7) September 4, 2018
The SFA referred the incident to three retired referees who decided that the incident wasn’t worth retrospective action- effectively giving players the all clear to kick lumps out of opponents without punishment.
If they get caught and red carded they can appeal on the Morelos grounds, if they escape the McGregor precedent can be called on to escape any punishment.
Richmond told the Daily Record: “What is the message they are trying to send out? That it’s okay to go around booting players off the ball?
“The guidelines are set at brutality or excessive force. Maybe players need to take four or five swipes at someone then it will be a sending off.
“The concept is to stop players getting sent off for these wee flick outs we have seen. But that wasn’t a flick out by McGregor at the weekend.
“It was a clear kick. The way I saw it, it was a free-kick to Rangers for the barge by Ajer. The play should have been stopped, Rangers get awarded the free-kick, then McGregor is ordered off for lashing out.
“All of a sudden now referees can’t bother then wait to see what the new compliance officer makes of it in terms of excessive force or brutality.
“I can’t understand those concepts. If there is brutality it’s not the referee who should be involved, the police would be lifting players.
“It goes back to violent conduct because excessive force is subjective – do we bring in the player who was kicked and ask them how sore it was?
“If you punch someone does it really matter how hard the punch was? It’s still a punch.
“If we’re talking about terms of brutality, will it take a GBH to get sent off?
“The problem we have is the next player to get done for kicking out at someone off the ball will be asking what the difference between their offence is and those of Morelos, Naismith and McGregor.
“It’s opened the door to a world of problems.”
McGregor is in the Scotland squad to face Belgium and Albania alongside Steven Naismith.