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Scotland manager Craig Levein furious with referee's performance in goalless Euro 2012 qualifier against Lithuania
Coach believes official cost his side three points...
3 Sep 2010 23:06:00
By Matthew Harold
Scotland manager Craig Levein was left fuming with Turkish referee Cuneyt Cakır after his side were subjected to some tough tackling from Lithuania in their Euro 2012 qualifying opener in Kaunas.
The former Dundee United manager saw his side held to a goalless draw despite a succession of free-kicks conceded by the home side, a fact that forced Levein to question whether his players had received enough protection from the match officials.
“I’m a little bit disappointed, the biggest disappointment for me tonight was that we weren’t allowed to play," said Levein to BBC Scotland. "Any time we had any momentum at all there was free-kick after free-kick.
“I felt the referee should have been harsher, I expected our team to be able to play a little more, but every time we got the ball there was crude challenges coming in.
“Some of the guys in their team were picked up for fouls, six or seven times and that annoyed me more than anything else.”
Levein was pleased with the performance of his side, though, especially following a 3-0 defeat by Sweden in a friendly last month.
He added: “I’m delighted with the players' attitude and the way they went about the game, I think Allan McGregor had one save to make which was after a blatant foul on David Weir, so well done to the boys.
“I was really pleased with the amount of switches of play and how the full-backs got forward. We didn’t quite get enough from that, but we got into fantastic positions and the willingness to run, work and chase.”
However, the overwhelming feeling for Levein was one of frustration. “I was hoping that after 20 minutes of the first half the referee would really stamp down and make sure that we were allowed to play football," he added.
“The tackle at the end on Alan Hutton was disgraceful and for me that is the thing that disappoints me and frustrates me that I expect my players to get better protected from the referee.”
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The former Dundee United manager saw his side held to a goalless draw despite a succession of free-kicks conceded by the home side, a fact that forced Levein to question whether his players had received enough protection from the match officials.
“I’m a little bit disappointed, the biggest disappointment for me tonight was that we weren’t allowed to play," said Levein to BBC Scotland. "Any time we had any momentum at all there was free-kick after free-kick.
“I felt the referee should have been harsher, I expected our team to be able to play a little more, but every time we got the ball there was crude challenges coming in.
“Some of the guys in their team were picked up for fouls, six or seven times and that annoyed me more than anything else.”
Levein was pleased with the performance of his side, though, especially following a 3-0 defeat by Sweden in a friendly last month.
He added: “I’m delighted with the players' attitude and the way they went about the game, I think Allan McGregor had one save to make which was after a blatant foul on David Weir, so well done to the boys.
“I was really pleased with the amount of switches of play and how the full-backs got forward. We didn’t quite get enough from that, but we got into fantastic positions and the willingness to run, work and chase.”
However, the overwhelming feeling for Levein was one of frustration. “I was hoping that after 20 minutes of the first half the referee would really stamp down and make sure that we were allowed to play football," he added.
“The tackle at the end on Alan Hutton was disgraceful and for me that is the thing that disappoints me and frustrates me that I expect my players to get better protected from the referee.”
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| Sign up with William Hill for a free bet up to £25 |
|
| Sign up with bet365 for a free bet up to £200 |
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21:49 BST -
So, judging from those tweets, people aren't too confident on Portugal qualifying from their group. Who will qualify from each group? Let me know on Twitter.
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