Referee says his decision was spot on

Published on Tuesday 16 May 2006 00:13

DOUGIE McDonald, referee of Saturday's Scottish Cup final between Gretna and Hearts, said yesterday TV footage showed he had been correct not to award a penalty to Rudi Skacel late on.

Writing on the "Whistleblower" section of the SFA website, McDonald said the Hearts player had caused the contact with Gretna goalkeeper Alan Main. "I was in excellent position to clearly see the incident. As Main approached the on-rushing Skacel, he went to ground as the ball was played past him.

"Main was grounded, stationary and his head and eyes were clearly looking to his right and to the ball when Skacel attempted to round him to his left and bumped into him. The contact was minimal. However, crucially, the contact was not Main on to Skacel, but Skacel on to the stationary Main.

"At no time did Main attempt to touch Skacel. I believe also that Skacel also knew that, which was why his first instinct was to continue to go for the ball. A decision to award a penalty kick never entered my head. I only needed to watch it on TV once to confirm my original judgment was correct."