Topic Originator: jake89
Date: Thu 30 Oct 18:35
From the Press:
Dunfermline have said that they have received feedback from the refereeing department at the Scottish Football Association following Saturday`s game at Ross County.
The Pars were beaten 3-2 by the Staggies in Dingwall, thanks to Ronan Hale`s winner, having fought back from losing two goals in the opening three minutes to level.
Manager Neil Lennon was furious with the performance of referee, Duncan Nicolson, post-match, accusing him of being "out of his depth".
He said he was "apoplectic" with the man in the middle, and said he "cost us the game" with decisions that were made.
There were a number of contentious calls made, with Lennon referencing, in particular, what he felt was a shirt tug on his defender, Nurudeen Abdulai, moments before County`s first goal; the lack of a foul, or red card, for the home side`s Declan Gallagher for Matty Todd being "elbowed in the face"; and Jeremiah Chilokoa-Mullen having a free-kick given against him, which led to the decisive goal, an incident which Lennon said was not a foul.
Additionally, he was also unhappy with comments made to a member of his coaching staff by one of the assistant referees, slamming them as "totally unacceptable" and "totally unprofessional".
Lennon said he would be taking matters further, commenting that he was "not accepting that as the manager of this club", whilst questioning: "Where`s the fairness for us? Where`s the fairness for my club and my team?".
It remains unclear as to whether the Athletic gaffer will face punishment from the governing body for his comments but, speaking ahead of tomorrow`s match at Ayr United, his assistant, Iain Brunskill, confirmed that they have had a response to their points of view.
"Yeah, we`ve had the feedback, and we`re obviously satisfied with what`s come back from them," he said.
"You get these things in games sometimes, but, no, we`ve had the communication back, and we`re happy with that and happy to move on."
It is not the first time that the Pars have sought answers from the SFA`s head of referee operations, Willie Collum, this season.
Nicolson was at the centre of the most recent incident, against Partick Thistle in September, when Dan O`Reilly pulled the shirt of Chris Kane in the box, which Lennon felt should have resulted in a penalty and a red card.
The Pars had previously sought answers over the lack of a penalty award for a foul on Chris Kane against Partick Thistle. (Image: Craig Brown.)
Neither were given, but Collum subsequently agreed that a spot-kick should have been given.
Additionally, Athletic also wanted an explanation after referee, David Dickinson, only gave a booking against Raith Rovers` Lewis Stevenson after his challenge on Andrew Tod saw the youngster suffer concussion and whiplash.
The refs chief then agreed with the Pars that a red card should have been given.
Last season, Lennon was given a warning from the SFA after hitting out at the standard of refereeing following a defeat to Hamilton Academical in April.
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