How to mark Lithuania Day abroad: berate the natives then throw a party

Vladimir Romanov, the owner of Hearts, is back in Edinburgh for the first time since November and will host tonight's event in honour of his adopted homeland. In attendance among the 200 guests at the Gorgie Suite will be Vygaudas Usackas, Lithuania's ambassador in the United Kingdom, and members of Hearts' first-team squad.

Yet the festivities will be somewhat overshadowed by Romanov's savage public criticisms of Hearts players, the Old Firm and referees, made in an interview with a Russian magazine. It is debatable whether or not the ambassador has any interest in football but even if he does not, Romanov's attempts to justify Hearts as a successful foreign business project continue to be undermined by his vociferous public rants.

In the interview he was reported to have said: "Celtic and Rangers? Even Kaunas are a match for them on the pitch.

"They have turned football into a type of show business with their underhand games.

"They buy off players and referees. When it comes to weaker teams then nobody can help.

"But if two opponents are equally matched then the referees can have a real influence on the outcome."

The remarks were condemned by most sections of Scottish football, with Celtic chairman Brian Quinn taking particular exception and indicating that he would consult his club's lawyers if the remarks were genuine.

Romanov was also reported to have claimed Hearts had "five people in the team working for Rangers and Celtic" before Christmas.

Hearts transferred Steven Pressley and Paul Hartley to Celtic in January after the two players, along with out-of-favour goalkeeper Craig Gordon, had publicly revealed "significant unrest" in the dressing room in October.

However, the banker's spokesman, Charlie Mann, stressed last night that Romanov did not accuse Rangers and Celtic of "buying off" match officials. Mann said: "Mr Romanov categorically denies any reference to the Old Firm 'buying off' referees. He did not say it, full stop. We all know that Scottish officials are among the best in the world."

In a further interview late last night, published on Hearts' website, Romanov lashed out at the media as the cause of yesterday's difficulties.

"It's a pity that papers are not able to get an interview from me direct," he said. "Thank God I haven't come across any corruption in Scotland. I don't expect anything except lies and distortion of my quotes." In a reference to the media, Romanov claimed Edinburgh - "a culture, all Walter Scott's heritage" - is being "ruled and destroyed by monkeys from the safari park". Helpfully, the website also supplied a picture of a monkey wearing an ear-ring. with the word 'media' on its chest. The picture came complete with the caption: 'Monkey the enlightener. An enemy of talent. A teacher of mediocrity.'

Lost in translation, then, Romanov's strong sense of grievance surrounding the roles of referees in Hearts' demise is not new. His complaints enter the public domain regularly.

Hearts' appeal, for example, against their 10,000 fine for comments attributed to the owner on the club website in September will be heard by the Scottish Football Association on Monday. At that point, he claimed referees could not prevent the Tynecastle outfit from lifting last season's Scottish Cup. Romanov's appeal against his own fine has also been lodged.

The SFA's general purposes committee is expected to discuss this latest verbal volley at its next meeting at Hampden on the 27th of this month.

But does Romanov have a point? The old adage that refereeing decisions will even themselves out over the course of a season is clearly one Romanov disagrees with, his strongest supporters would argue with good reason.

Hearts have, without doubt, suffered from some poor refereeing decisions. Followers of the club will not forget Bruno Aguiar's harsh sending off against AEK Athens in a European tie, the dubious dismissal of Mauricio Pinilla at Pittodrie or Lee Martin's dive in the lead up to Rangers' first of two goals against Hearts last August. Celtic's late revival against Hearts in November owed much to a foul by Jiri Jarosik on Ibrahim Tall at the Parkhead side's equaliser.

Nonetheless, claims that Hearts are disproportionately hard done to by officials are statistically wide of the mark. The Edinburgh side have had four players sent off in the SPL this season, two fewer than city rivals Hibs, and received two penalty awards; one more than Celtic.

Hibs have also given away the most fouls in the league at 414. Rangers, like Hearts, have conceded two spot-kicks; far fewer than Dundee United - eight - while Dunfermline are yet to be awarded a league penalty. Aberdeen and Inverness have received penalties only once.

If Romanov does sense that his players are singled out for special treatment by referees then he need only have watched the last Old Firm encounter at Ibrox; when Celtic captain Neil Lennon was denied a penalty after a foul by Stephen Smith. Kenny Miller suffered a similar injustice on Celtic's last trip to Love Street while on Sunday the penalty awarded to Kris Boyd at Kilmarnock illustrated that referees make wrong decisions without the involvement of Hearts.

Romanov may have cause to complain about the actions of referees against his Hearts players on occasion. He should not, though, allow such a situation to overshadow their many inauspicious performances during this campaign and criticisms would be better served in private.