WHO said it's just the refs in Scotland that are serving up sub- standard performances?
Saturday's World Cup qualifier in Macedonia was a reminder that regardless of which country they're from, the match officials on the Continent are not necessarily any better than what we're used to seeing in the SPL every week.
Prior to this openi
ng fixture, Scotland boss George Burley highlighted the fact that Mr Kralovec – the Czech referee in charge in Skopje on Saturday – was very inexperienced for a game of this nature. In fact, this was only his third international match as a FIFA referee – and mercifully, his previous two were in Kazakhstan and Moldova.
Is it any wonder then, that when it came to the crunch, he got the two key decisions in the game completely wrong?
Macedonia's only goal came from a free-kick which should never have been given after their striker took a dive and then later in the game Scotland had not one, but two clear penalty shouts turned down within the space of five seconds.
I was a little surprised to read some of the quotes from the Scotland players who were fairly circumspect in their assessment of the ref's performance.
In fact, both Stephen McManus and Kenny Miller thought the officials performed with distinction.
The skipper said: "We were a bit frustrated by the penalty claims but, honestly, I thought the referee was brilliant. He clamped down on their diving, which is all you can ask for."
Miller added: "I actually think the referee was outstanding, apart from when it came to the big decisions and he called it wrong."
It's hard not to come to the conclusion that the SFA's PR man, or perhaps Burley, had told the players to keep a lid on their frustration for fear of reprisal from FIFA at a later date. It seems nowadays, referees are protected even more than goalkeepers.
Whilst the 1-0 scoreline may not have flattered the home side, on their second-half performance at least, Scotland deserved to take something from the game.
In the lead-up to this match, the local climate was the main topic of conversation – so much so, it was almost as if people were suggesting the Scotland players had never played in extreme heat before.
The Macedonians were, of course, better suited to playing in 100 degrees, but the fact Scotland finished the game far stronger than their opponents makes a mockery of using the hot weather as an excuse.
Perhaps, more than anything, the temperature was more of a mental block for Burley's men because they started the match so slowly it was almost as if they were trying to pace themselves rather than playing at full-tilt right from the off.
A contrast in formation meant one of the teams was going to have a tactical advantage and straight away it was clear the home side's 3-4-3 pattern was going to pose a problem against Scotland's more rigid 4-4-2.
The front three of Goran Maznov, Goran Pandev and Ilco Naumoski had the two centre-backs and Paul Hartley scratching their heads as none of them knew who was responsible for picking up the spare striker as the Macedonians took it in turns to drop off and play in between Scotland's midfield and back-four.
As it turned out, the only goal of the game came from a free-kick barely five minutes in following good interplay between Pandev and Maznov. The foul given against McManus was highly contentious to say the least, but Scotland still had the chance to defend the set play properly and they failed miserably.
So now it's on to Iceland on Wednesday and a game which takes on even greater significance after the defeat in Macedonia.
The general consensus is that Scotland, Norway and Iceland are playing for second place in the group as it's hard to see any of the three finishing above odds-on favourites Holland.
With that in mind, the 2-2 draw between Norway and Iceland on Saturday may turn out to be a good result for Scotland. But, in the short team at least, Iceland will have gained confidence from picking up a point away from home and they will see this game as a chance to gain the upper hand in the race for second spot as Norway don't play until next month and Macedonia entertain the formidable Dutch.
In some ways, Iceland are less of an unknown quantity than Macedonia. Several of their squad have featured in the English Premier League – Hermann Hreidarsson played for Ipswich and Charlton, Heidar Helguson for Watford and Gretar Steinsson for Bolton – and in Eidur Gudjohnsen they will have, by some distance, the best player on show.
If he happens to play anywhere near his peak on Wednesday night, Scotland may well have their work cut out to pick up a point, never mind three.
The full article contains 832 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
