Craig Gordon 'let down' by Hearts refereeing drama as VAR blunder incenses Jambos veteran
Craig Gordon can't wrap his head around how he conceded a penalty for Hearts in the Europa Conference League on Thursday evening, after Copenhagen star Amin Chiakha went down easily in the area - saying that the match officials 'spoiled' the occasion in the Danish capital.
Chiakha had already put the hosts 1-0 to the good just after half-time, but with Hearts still in the game, you simply couldn't rule out a result for the Jambos with time still to play. However, with little over 10 minutes left, a lofted ball saw Gordon and Chiakha enter a footrace for the ball, with the Scot seemingly getting the first touch before Chiakha went down.
Initially, the referee didn't see anything doing; but after being summoned to the VAR screen, he gave a penalty - and told Gordon that if he complained, he would be booked for complaining.
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It's a decision that has caused controversy in Tynecastle ranks, and speaking after the game, the Scotland stopper said: “The referee didn't really speak much. You don't tend to get much of a conversation.
"They tell you to go away and not speak, so he wasn't wanting to have a chat with me. I told him that I'd touched the ball, that we'd both touched the ball, and what was I supposed to do?
“I was standing still when the contact was made, he [Chiakha] comes through the back of the defender to get a slight touch on the ball, kicks it onto me, then follows through onto me.
"If that happens anywhere else on the pitch, you probably get a foul. I didn't get the foul and, for some reason, somebody looking at a TV screen has managed to interpret that in a totally different way when the ref had a good grasp of the situation in the first place.
"That's exactly what we said in the dressing room at half-time: 'Let's get to the last 15 minutes and have a right go. No matter what the score is, if we're one goal behind, then we've still got a chance going into the last 15 minutes.'
"Personally, I thought it was a good performance spoiled by one decision and one very small element of the game. That's what happens at this level, it's one second. Overall, I was happy with my performance, but I feel a little bit let down by the decision for that penalty.
“Yes, I did. I tried to say the same things. He'd kicked the ball into my hands, I'd touched the ball. How could he possibly look at that on a screen and think that was a penalty? He just told me to go away, that I'd get a yellow card if I continued not to protest.”
