Craig Levein went on the offensive yesterday over the standard of Scottish referees and declared that match officials, unlike players, are incapable of learning from their mistakes.
The Dundee United manager also urged the SFA to give referee Alan Muir tuition after his handling of his team’s controversial game against Motherwell last Saturday. United had Prince Buaben and Danny Swanson sent off and the club are to launch an appeal against Swanson’s red card.
Levein broke the agreement of managers in the Clydesdale Bank Premier League not to criticise referees because he fears that silence helps the SFA to avoid the issue of improving standards of officials.
“I have heard people saying over the weekend that I would not publicly criticise one of my players, so I should not do so with referees,” Levein said yesterday. “My answer to that is I criticise players in private because I know I can get a reaction from them and an improvement the next week.
“Criticise referees privately and nothing happens, the same mistakes get made and there is no improvement. I do not like criticising referees and, in over 12 years as a manager, I believe this is only the fourth time I’ve done it publicly, but I feel I have to. I am certainly not out to get Alan Muir, but I think someone should sit down with him and point out the mistakes he made and he can learn from them.”
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Buaben’s dismissal cannot be contested because the Nigerian midfield player received two yellow cards but Swanson’s straight red card for his tackle on Motherwell’s Keith Lasley could be rescinded.
“I am as angry today as I was on Saturday,” said Levein. “I have watched a DVD of the game and no way were either of the sendings-off fair. Prince has had two tackles in the game, neither of them bad, and has been booked twice. Danny has at no time raised his feet and made a genuine attempt to get the ball.”
Levein also questioned the appeals system that requires Dundee United to put up £1,000 to have Swanson’s case examined — by Muir himself. “I would like to know why we have to pay so much and what is so expensive to the SFA that it costs £1000 to conduct an appeal,” said Levein.
“As far as I can see, it is just a way of stopping clubs appealing because they only get the money back if they are successful. It’s also beyond me how they can have a system where the only person examining the evidence is the referee himself.”
Levein has been a thorn in the side of the SFA — which takes sanctions against managers who publicly rebuke referees — over his criticism of match officials. In 2003, while at of Heart of Midlothian, he was fined £1,000 for criticising Dougie McDonald’s handling of a game at Kilmarnock. In 2008, he was handed a £5,000 fine after condemning Mike McCurry’s infamous error-strewn display when Dundee United lost 3-1 at Rangers.