GLASGOW, SCOTLAND - APRIL 19: SFA chief executive Ian Maxwell (L) and SFA president Mike Mulraney during a Scottish Gas Men's Scottish Cup Semi-Final match between Heart of Midlothian and Aberdeen at Hampden Park, on April 19, 2025, in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Craig Foy/SNS Group via Getty Images)
Scotland’s defeat to Morocco has been followed by a national outbreak of paranoia.
Almost in unison BBC Scotland, STV, the Daily Record and Scottish Sun have been squealing about decisions that went against Steve Clarke’s side.
Darryl Broadfoot and Gordon Duncan have been busy, and popular.
It seems that the trusty phrase that ‘these decisions even themselves out’ has been ditched after decades of use against Celtic fans.
When the horror decisions of Bobby Madden, John Beaton, Willie Collum, David Dickinson, Steve McLean have been highlighted Celtic fans have been dismissed as cranks.
The claim that ‘these decisions even themselves out’ only applies to club matches.
Match referee Ilgiz Tantashev is from Uzbekistan. He is a better referee than anything in Collum’s SFA stable. Incredibly he isn’t a member of the Lanarkshire Refereeing Association.
SCOTLAND WEREN’T GOOD ENOUH- END OF
Last night Tantashev let things go in the match. For both teams.
Almost all challenges for the ball went unpunished.
Unlike in Scotland where SPFL players know that they have free kicks on demand against Celtic. Simply linger on the ball, once a Celtic player gets within two feet just fall to the ground and get a free kick.
Tantashev didn’t go with that interpretation. Both teams took advantage of it.
Typical was the John McGinn penalty claim in the second half.
The Aston Villa midfielder bundled an opponent off the ball in the centre of the park. Play on. McGinn was bundled over in the penalty box. Play on.
These things even themselves out and all that. But only when it suits your agenda.
Scotland suffer World Cup injustice against Morocco as referee misses penalty shout – 5 talking points from @scottmcdermott8 in Boston https://t.co/D353tbUHki pic.twitter.com/NUi4Pvx7ok
— Daily Record Sport (@Record_Sport) June 20, 2026
Scotland had more than 90 minutes to get back into the match after going behind after 70 seconds to a goal from Ismael Saibari.
It took until the 87th minute for the Moroccan goalkeeper, he collected a shot from Scott McTominay that was deflected off a defender’s foot.
In the sixth minute of stoppage time Scotland were awarded a corner kick. Lewis Ferguson’s effort barely got past the first Moroccan defender.
Next up is Brazil on Tuesday. Again the referee will be selected from a worldwide pool of the best of the best.
No Scottish referee has been selected for a World Cup since Hugh Dallas in 2002.
“I think it is a red card.”
Neil McCann and James McFadden look at the yellow card for Morocco’s Issa Diop.#BBCFootball #FifaWorldCup pic.twitter.com/fVdrisfat9
— BBC Sport Scotland (@BBCSportScot) June 20, 2026
“I thought that was a penalty kick.”
James McFadden on Scotland’s penalty claim. #BBCFootball #FifaWorldCup pic.twitter.com/20U4TkyAhm
— BBC Sport Scotland (@BBCSportScot) June 20, 2026
Clarke on two Scotland penalty shouts and possible Morocco red card ? pic.twitter.com/ntrQrSQKtP
— Scottish Sun Sport (@scotsunsport) June 20, 2026
There are referees and then there is Ilgiz Tantashev. Has been on one all game…
— Raman Bhardwaj (@ramanbhardwajTV) June 19, 2026
Lol,I’m loving this paranoia,I didn’t even want us at the World Cup in the first place due to the corruption at our own national football organisation.
I can only hope we get a right good SCUDDING from Brazil that finishes us once and fir all,and get us out of a tournament we should never have been,we are only there to make up the numbers.
As for the ref,so F**K,who cares.
The ARSEHOLES in our media /press tv pundits and radio should be ashamed to call any ref out when we don’t have any of our own DUFFERS at the tournament,but he let’s dish out some criticism to the ones that are there.
So bring the Brazil so the team can come home early with a sore arse abd a new sponsor,SUDOCREM.
You’re slipping back into to bad habits Scud / Stephen / Madman.
Today on the BBC Scottish version of radio -Sportsound – are in effect blaming Kieran Tierney for the goal and criticising him for ‘ not adapting well enough to his new position of playing .’ Crichton …English …McCann…and friends all piling in to blame the guy for the Scotland defeat .
Selective and convenient to the narrative criticism all made on our £’s . Nothing about where was the ‘blue eyed boy ‘ best striker in Scotland Shankland ? Steve Clarke could not trust him for the last 15 minutes when we were still losing the game .
There was no inclination that Shankland was injured so it must have been down to his Arthritis slow running and complete overweight lack of stamina for him being dropped for the game . That was conveniently missed by the Sportsound panel .
Or Ryan Christie being bundled off the ball 4 times in 20 minutes for being a ‘lightweight ?’
So by your thinking, two wrongs make a right. If the referee is consistently wrong, that does not make him a good referee, and as far as evening things up, a foul at the halfway line is not the same as a missed foul in the box.
Scotland rode their luck to get to a point in the game where a dead-ball situation could earn them a point it was a penalty, call it.
In a tournament, referees should be consistent within their game and make calls similar to all the other referees
as each game has a huge effect on the other participants.
Bottom line: we didn’t deserve anything from that game.
We were dire for most of the game.
(Although we did actually start playing after the second half ‘commercial break’.)
Valentines @ 4.08pm…
Not ma £’s buddy – Not then, not now, not till I’m a puff of fu**in smoke at the crematorium !
I just wish referees would referee fairly for Celtic, Sevco, Scotland, who fu**in ever…
While I wouldn’t want to deliberately see the country of ma birth lose – That’s for Sevco fans and there are plenty of them in that sphere – I do indeed take some schadenfreude from the ‘pain’ of The Scummy’s although if they’re right into Sevco like that guy Jackshun they’ll covertly be pleased but cannot admit this in their roles…
Also – Why The Fu*k were they all saying ‘WE’ when describing Scotland on the telly last night…
That’s very open bias and very unprofessional !
Thon fish wife is no very braw and talks shite to boot.
Neil McCann is a tax dodging fanny who owes money to the exchequer.
Just what you’d expect from BBC Scotland Sport.
Tony B @ 6.39pm…
McCann doesn’t even talk shite to the boot any longer…
I believe she divorced him !
How Scotland fares in football is neither here nor there to me. I kinda want them to win but it’s not important.
This was imbedded in me by the actions of Scottish football’s ‘authorities’ and I use that in the context only that they make decisions and/or comments. The SFA, the now SPFL, the LRA, the SMSM, the chosen ‘pundits’ only chosen for having some connection with the dead Ibrox club and now the Ibrox company. Huns and masons sums them up along with a sprinkling of turncoats and clowns.
Last night the team got exactly what it earned, nothing. 2 main problems are tactics and talent, the lack of. We have a few players, not many, who COULD have a go if the tactics weren’t so absolutely anti-footballing shite.
We go a goal down within 2 minutes so we spend the next 70 minutes plus trying to help Morrocco keep their lead by trying, laughably, to play negative, excruciating to watch, possession fitba which we can’t even do………fuck it, who really cares, except we were an embarrassment to our nation and got what we deserved. Clarke has lost all and any respect I once had for him as does KT and the rest for agreeing to play that horrible, backward (retarded?) football. Hope Brazil give us a lesson and send us homeward tae think (tactics) again.
PS I watched a bit of Germany vs Ivory Coast, last 20 minutes or so from when Germany equalised and guess what? Both teams were trying to play football and win the game.
Will it ever catch on? It WAS how we all used to play so why TAF are folk falling for possession-based, backward-facing shite? NB Both MON and BR were not completely averse to this but by fuck they should be. It’s supposed to be fucking entertainment at the end of the day!