Referee chief hits out at Kenny Shiels over sarcasm claim

By CRAIG FORBES
Published on 10/11/2012 00:00

John Fleming, the Scottish Football Association’s head of referee development, has expressed his disappointment at comments made by Kilmarnock manager Kenny Shiels about match official Euan Norris.

Shiels accused the referee of making a “sarcastic” remark following his side’s 2-1 defeat by Inverness at Rugby Park last weekend. The Kilmarnock manager said he had reported Norris to the SPL match delegate and would also be reporting him to Fleming. The referees’ chief confirmed no complaint had been received and moved to shed light on the incident.

In a statement, Fleming said: “I was disappointed that Kenny Shiels elected to speak to the media before myself in relation to comments from Euan Norris he alleged were sarcastic in nature after the Kilmarnock v Inverness SPL match last weekend. I was especially disappointed by this course of action since, in the very same interview, Kenny admitted he ‘did not know exactly what was said but it was something flippant’. For the purposes of clarity, there has been no formal complaint received and no action intended against the match official. I have discussed the matter with Euan and his explanation is as follows.

“He was approached immediately after the full-time whistle by the Kilmarnock manager, who was shaking his head in disapproval. When confronted by a clearly unhappy manager on the field of play, Euan said: ‘You are shaking your head for the benefit of the spectators’. There was no sarcasm; no flippancy. It is what Euan believed.

He added: “On a separate issue, I wish to confirm that Euan is recovering well after an incident at our referees’ grassroots evening on Monday. Euan collapsed after feeling unwell and was taken to Wishaw General Hospital, where he was kept in for observation and subject to 24-hour monitoring. In order to recuperate fully, I felt it wise to allow Euan some time with his family, perhaps similar to action afforded to any player in such circumstances.”