Spartans boss blasts “shameful” refereeing performance after derby defeat

Debbi McCulloch is frustrated refereeing decisions never go Spartans’ way. Credit: Spartans Women

Spartans fell to a late 4-3 defeat to Hearts on Sunday with manager Debbi McCulloch insisting that her side was “cheated” out of a result.

Spartans were 3-1 against their rivals before a series of late goals saw the result turned on its head. The game was not without its controversy either with the referee denying both sides penalties at crucial moments before allowing Hearts to score a 95th-minute winner from a seemingly offside position.

“We were absolutely robbed, cheated would be the word,” McCulloch told the Edinburgh Evening News. “I’ve just watched Hearts’ fourth goal, it is definitely, 100% offside. I looked at it in live-action, and I thought it was offside. The assistant referee couldn’t tell me what number was playing the player on so he didn’t have a clue. We can be really proud of our performance today, but we need to learn how to control games.

“If we are honest about it, I think some of us were a bit surprised that we were 3-1 up against a full-time team, but we let Hearts come back into it too easily. We had a stonewall penalty, they had a stonewall penalty as well. We work really hard to prepare for these games but when refereeing decisions ultimately cost you a point or three points, it is not good enough.”

The derby match was not the first time Spartans were on the wrong end of a controversial decision. In their 2-2 draw against Hibs in late August, McCulloch’s side again found themselves two goals up before the referee controversially sent Dion McMahon off and gave the hosts a penalty which allowed them to get back into the tie.

However, Sunday’s game was arguably more costly. Spartans are yet to win at home this season after a mixed set of results. A win against Hearts will have undoubtedly provided a much-needed boost for McCulloch’s side before the international break comes into play next week. When the hosts were 3-1 and on top, Spartans had a massive shout for a penalty as Lauren Berman was taken down inside the box. With the potential to possibly put her side 4-1 with 30 minutes left to play, McCulloch was furious that the decision wasn’t given citing that “something needs to be done”.

“Moments like that are big [Berman penalty call] and what I am finding is that 99% of the time, they are not giving the right decision and that is shameful,” she added. “I cannot put into words how frustrated and gutted I am for my players. They followed the game plan, they scored three really good goals, they worked their absolute socks off and gave everything on the pitch and ultimately, the result has been decided because of decisions.

“Absolutely 100% [the referee cost Spartans the game]. For periods they did great, but the big decisions, they just got them so wrong, and at this level, that can’t happen it has to stop, and something needs to get done about it.”