THE SFA has been accused of LYING in an official statement on the controversial opening goal in the Rangers and St Johnstone cup clash today.
Cyriel Dessers slammed the ball into the back of the net in the 61st minute of the match at Hampden that set Gers on their way to a quarter-final place in the Premier Sports Cup thanks to a 2-0 win.
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But the Perth Saints and boss Craig Levein were left absolutely fuming because the strike, originally ruled out by the referee for a foul in the build-up, was reinstated after a VAR review.
Dessers turned Jack Sanders on the edge of the box before jinking inside and rifling a shot past Joshua Rae.
But whistler Matthew MacDermid appeared to blow his whistle just before the ball hit the net, and had gestured for a foul by Dessers on Sanders.
However, MacDermid paused and had word in his ear and was then summoned to the VAR booth.
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After reviewing the incident and finding that Dessers was neither offside nor had fouled Sanders, he decided to award the goal.
This saw the Saints bench erupt in fury as they felt there should have been no right for review as the goal had been scored AFTER the referee had already signalled to stop play.
A statement from the SFA, first seen by the BBC, said: “The whistle is blown after the goal is scored. The referee clearly communicates that he is going to award a foul after the goal is scored.”
Upon hearing the statement former Rangers, Aberdeen and St Johnstone defender Ricky Foster branded it a pack of lies.
He said on Sportsound: “Lies! It’s a lie. Unless he puts the whistle to his mouth for no reason…
“As Neil (McCann) says, he puts it to his mouth and blows it before Dessers even chops inside.”
Fellow pundit Marvin Bartley added: “Whether he says he blew the whistle after or he didn’t, the fact he puts his hands out and indicates a free-kick is given…
“Sometimes as a player when you’re out there and it’s loud, you can’t hear the whistle.
“He’s pointing as if he’s given a foul so, for me, he’s made a mistake.
“Regardless of what they come out and say, if he says ‘I didn’t blow my whistle’, he’s indicated to the players out there that he’s giving a foul.
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“From a Rangers point of view, it was the right decision in the end. He should have let it play on and blown the whistle after, but he’s indicating and that’s the reason St Johnstone will be very upset with that first goal.”
St Johnstone boss Levein hadn’t seen the statement by the time he was interviewed after the game.
But he was already fearful of not getting the explanation he wanted.
Levein said: “If he indicates it’s a free-kick for us, which he did, and everybody’s looking at him, and then he stops.
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“That’s a mistake on his part. I don’t know what excuse they’re going to come up with, but I’d love them just to hold their hands up and say ‘Look, I’m sorry, we got that wrong’.”
He also told Premier Sports: “I don’t want to say what the referee said. I’ll just get myself into bother.”
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