McLeish vents fury at decision that spelled the end for Scots
TOM ENGLISH AT HAMPDEN PARK
WITH the emotion of the day clearly still coursing through him, Alex McLeish got stuck into Senor Manuel Gonzalez with all the alacrity his players had shown against the Azzurri earlier in the evening. McLeish wasted no time in jumping on Gonzalez, the Spanish referee, for his decision to award Italy the free-kick that led to Christian Panucci's winning goal.
It was, admittedly, a terrible blunder by the official. In fact, the decision was made by Gonzalez's linesman, Juan Jimenez, but it was the organ grinder Gonzalez who got it in the neck from McLeish.
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Scotland were still hanging on to a vague hope of qualification with the game level at 1-1 but the Roma defender's header snuffed it out. The decision that incensed the Scottish manager was awarded when the Italian substitute Giorgio Chiellini shoulder-charged Alan Hutton and dropped him to the floor. How Hutton was penalised is a question only the Spanish officials can answer.
"We're disappointed at the free-kick award," said a deeply frustrated McLeish. "It was poor. I can't understand why he gave the free-kick to Italy. I've seen it on the video and it's unbelievable. When the flag pointed in the direction of our goal I was baffled.
"Some of the big teams get decisions in their favour. They get the 50-50 ones and we've seen that today. We need to be brilliant to overcome that. We weren't brilliant today but we were pretty good. We have to be exceptional. Some times you'll get referees who are not fazed by it. Today a lot of the 50-50s went against us unfairly.
"Gonzalez is a top referee. What can you do? He's a top referee and UEFA chose him. He did all right but a lot of his decisions were unjust."
McLeish admitted that even if the game finished in a draw, qualification for next summer's jamboree in Austria and Switzerland would have been a long shot, large favours being required elsewhere. "But a defeat today was not deserved," he repeated.
McLeish was still in the early stages of dealing with the dismay of seeing his team come so close and yet so far from realising this great dream they have been pursuing thrillingly for over a year. He was right to criticise the decision to side with Chiellini over Hutton but he was palpably wrong with his assertion that most of the 50-50s went against his team.
Two important calls went Scotland's way. The first was the one that saw Antonio Di Natale's 32nd minute goal disallowed for offside. Di Natale was not offside. None of his team-mates were either. At that stage the score was still 1-0 to Italy. At 2-0, you suspect that the great finale we were treated to would never have materialised.
The second centred around the Scotland equaliser. Roberto Donadoni said later that Ferguson might have been a shade offside when he forced the ball over Gianluigi Buffon's line. It's a tough one to read, in fairness. A close run thing. You could call it a 50-50 decision. It went Scotland's way.
Another one of Gonzalez's judgments was remarked upon, the one that saw Scottish claims for a penalty when Lee McCulloch's shot hit the upper arm of Gianluca Zambrotta. McLeish's sense of injustice was tempered by the uncertainty at not having seen a replay of the incident.
"He [Gonzalez] gave a penalty for Manchester United against Celtic in the Champions League when [Shaun] Maloney put his hand up. Zambrotta had his hand up. But I haven't seen that one so I shouldn't say much about it." Decisions, decisions. In the end only the bottom line counts, captured beautifully, and wistfully, by the Scottish manager. "Italy have survived again," he sighed.
"We were caught cold with the first goal," he continued. "And it was unlike us. The multiple ball system is something you've got be aware of. It knocked the stuffing out of us. It took us a wee while to find our feet. The last ten-15 minutes we had them on the ropes. I really thought we were going to get the goal. With Faddy's chance [in the 80th minute], my life flashed before my eyes. I thought we were going to Switzerland. I feel very sorry and disappointed for the players. We live for these types of games and we've given some big teams a fright in this campaign."
No argument there. Not from the masses at Hampden who applauded their team to the rafters and not from Donadoni either. "You can see the imprint of their manager," said Donadoni. "They gave their all. Twenty four points is a fantastic achievement. It's not by luck they've done that."
The Italian admitted to having moments of concern once Ferguson equalised. By then the marvellous Alan Hutton was causing havoc down his wing and Italy were creaking. "When a team equalises they push forward and some fear can come into your play. It is important you don't give up. That's why we put Chiellini on right because we were weak on that side," said Donadoni.
"I'm overjoyed. The players went out and battled for me and for the Italian nation. I said to them before, 'I am calm, I am relaxed and if you feel the same then we will be celebrating after 90 minutes'. I'm overcome. I wish I could express how I feel."
Donadoni paid a nice tribute to the Scottish fans - "they showed us how to behave, how to get behind their team, their correctness has given us something to learn from" - but McLeish had the last word.
Upbeat to the end he set aside his grievances with the referee and finished by looking optimistically to the future. "Our boys have got years ahead of them," he said. "They'll get great confidence and belief from what they've done. They're growing in stature and technical ability and mental toughness. We've got to go forward with positivity. It's human nature to be disappointed but not for too long."
They'll start again. There's a World Cup campaign on the horizon. The draw will be kinder next time. Scotland has had its fill of death groups for a while.
REF'S ERRORS
15 mins: Scotland denied penalty
Scotland are denied a penalty when Gianluca Zambrotta blocks Lee McCulloch's goal-bound shot with his arm. The incident comes during a period of sustained Scotland pressure and the home side appeal strongly for a spot-kick, but Spanish referee Manuel Mejuto Gonzalez waves away the claims.
31 mins: Di Natale goal disallowed
Italy look to have gone 2-0 up when Antonio Di Natale rifles home a rebound after an incredible point-blank save from Craig Gordon from Massimo Ambrosini. The assistant referee raises his flag for offside but television replays suggest the official may have called it wrong.
63 mins: Ferguson equalises
Hampden erupts as Scotland equalise but Barry Ferguson looks suspiciously offside as he slides home the goal after McCulloch's shot is parried by Buffon. The linesman keeps his flag down and the Scotland captain is able to celebrate his first ever home goal for his country.
90mins: Hutton penalised wrongly
Spanish linesman Juan Carlos Jimenez flags for a free-kick for the Italians after Italy sub Giorgio Chiellini barges into Alan Hutton. It's a perplexing decision and fatal for the Scots as Italy net an injury-time winner when Christian Panucci heads home the free-kick.
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