Dons attack referee 'antics' and say he 'cheated the fans' at Easter Road

Published on Monday 2 November 2009 22:00

ABERDEEN could find themselves in trouble with the Scottish Football Association after their club website carried fierce criticism of referee Steven Nicholls' display in Saturday's 2-0 defeat against Hibs.

In an unattributed article entitled 'Is common sense too much to hope for?', Nicholls was accused of "short-changing" the large travelling support at Easter Road. The statement claimed Nicholls, who sent off Maurice Ross and Chris Maguire and issued eight yellow cards, seemed "blindly determined to stamp his authority right from the off".

The comments on www.afc.co.uk continued: "When cards are being dished out like confetti, players become afraid to make tackles for fear of reprisal, and that's exactly what occurred in Edinburgh.

"Nine against eleven (perhaps make that twelve!) for the best part of half an hour means an unequal situation and one that is cheating the fans who pay good money to watch a competitive and balanced encounter.

"The sending off of a player should be a last resort not, what it appeared to be against Hibs, something the referee seemed hell bent on achieving almost straight from the kick-off.

"And if match officials are being given little or no leeway to adopt a common sense approach, then that needs to be seriously looked at by the powers that be, and sooner rather than later.

"However, thanks to the antics of the man in the middle, what began as a fair contest almost descended into farce!

"A common sense approach could have made things so different – a quiet word instead of an instant card, appreciating that a striker's tackle may not be the best timed in the world and not backing himself into a situation where he was almost forced into dismissing players.

"A common-sense approach from match officials – that's all the football fraternity wants – is that really too much to ask for?"

Earlier this year, Hearts were fined 20,000 over criticism of referee Dougie McDonald in their official website's match report on their Scottish Cup defeat by Falkirk. The comments triggered a suspended fine from two years earlier, which followed a statement on the website by majority shareholder Vladimir Romanov.

Speaking to RedTV earlier in the day, Aberdeen manager Mark McGhee insisted Maguire's dismissal had been harsh but confirmed the club would not appeal the decision. He also stressed the referee was not to blame for Aberdeen's failure to pick up any points at Easter Road, instead lamenting shoddy defending for Colin Nish's 88th-minute opener.

"At one point we had ten fouls, six bookings and two sendings off so I think a lot of the bookings were unnecessary," said McGhee. "But the point we lost the game was from a ball into the box that we didn't win a header. It wasn't because we only had nine men.

"We maybe didn't win the game because we only had nine men but I think we lost the game because we didn't win a header. I'm not going to lay the blame for the defeat at the referee's feet."

Meanwhile, Aberdeen teenager Fraser Fyvie faces up to six weeks on the sidelines after tests revealed he suffered ankle ligament damage on Saturday.

The 16-year-old was carried off on a stretcher following a challenge by Ian Murray. McGhee explained: "Fraser has had his X-ray and it would appear there is no breakage.

"There is certainly ligament damage, which can be a lengthy process. The prognosis is for about four to six weeks."

Fyvie was injured shortly before Hibs netted their two late goals to deny the nine-man Dons a point. "Fraser has been important in the way we have played, in the last three games in particular," McGhee added.

"We are all disappointed for him, at this early stage in his career, he is just getting started.

"But it's an injury that will fix itself and he'll be back."