Aberdeen boss Jim Goodwin questioned how Marvin Bartley can work as a pundit while being assistant of a Premiership club as he hit back at Luis 'Duk' Lopes' critics. The Dons boss jumped to the defence of his star after he found himself at the centre of a diving storm. The Portuguese frontman was awarded a controversial spot kick following a VAR intervention for the Reds opening goal in their 4-1 win over Hibs at Pittodrie on Friday.
Duk has come under fire with claims he was already going down before David Marshall caught him and Livingston No. 2 Bartley, speaking on BBC's Sportscene, said: “It’s a dive for me.” Goodwin is adamant, though, that it was a penalty and his player had been caught. He also stated if it had been a dive then he would have had a go at Duk.
Goodwin insisted: "I would defend my players to the hilt. If he was a diver then I would be having strong words with him. My players aren’t encouraged to dive. I have heard comments from some people saying that they look for those situations. We don’t. When you watch it from behind the goal you can see that Marshall’s left shoulder smashes into Duk’s knee. The VAR referee thought it was a penalty. The referee on the night thought it was a penalty. But that’s the world we live in. Everyone is entitled to their opinion.”
