hackwatching

scotland lose out to cheating johnny foreigner - it could never happen here

Some recent quotes from the Scottish Media following Scotland’s defeat by Italy in their final Euro 2008 qualifiying match -

“If it was a player making a terrible decision in a match, he may not play in the next match. UEFA have to ask if he should be in a game like this. He made a horrendous mistake and doesn’t deserve to be officiating at a high level” Alex McLeish (The Sun, 19 November 2007)

“I hope action is taken against the referee. We’ve been punsihed so why should he not be punished?” Lee McCulloch (Daily Express, 19 November 2007)

“You would not have seen a decision like that late free-kick on a public park” George Cumming (The Sun, 19 November 2007)
“Ethically, what happened at Dumbarton was just not right [alleged spying on Scotland’s training session]. I’m not sure if there is something In UEFA’s rule book which states that this kind of thing is not allowed. But I would be very interested to hear UEFA’s views on the matter. I would like to know if there are rules which have been broken and if UEFA believe what the Italians did was a moral or ethical way to behave.” Gordon Smith (Daily Record, 19 November 2007)

“the foul on Alan Hutton by Giorgio Chiellini was an appalling mistake that could have been described as robbery and cheating. The assistant referee is only yards away from the incident and for the referee not to over-rule him was incredible” Craig Brown (Daily Record, 19 November 2007)
“We all accept that officials make honest mistakes. They have to decide instantly on ‘is it?’ or ‘isn’t it?’ ‘Did he or didn’t he?’. Jimenez did have these things to consider when he raised his flag. He had to decide whether Alan Hutton had been fouled or not. There was nothing else to consider - but he chose to invent one for himself. In my 30 years of refereeing I’ve never witnessed such a blatant deliberate error. It was no mistake. The big team were going to get a little help.” David Syme (The Sun, 19 November 2007)

“When we start questioning the integrity of officials we might as well pick up the ball and all go home” Chic Young [and the rest of the Scottish Media] (April 2005)

It’s easy to be dignified when you win isn’t it?

TONY BANANAS

 

More paranoid ranting available at www.celticparanoia.blogspot.com

 

TONY BANANAS & HACKWATCHER