Raging Albion Rovers boss Brian Reid says he’s taking a complaint to SFA referees chief Crawford Allan after his side lost 1-0 to Edinburgh City with a controversial penalty.
Reid says the amount of “soft” decisions given against his side this season is “getting beyond a joke” and hinted that he feels officials have something against the Cliftonhill club.
And he told referee Alan Newlands that his decision to award a penalty when former Rovers man Ouzy See went down under a challenge by keeper Cammy Binnie was “embarrassing”.
Ryan Shanley netted the penalty three minutes into stoppage time, and Reid says that was similar to another decision to give Cowdenbeath a spot-kick winner at Cliftonhill back on January 29.
He fumed: “I was absolutely disgusted with it – for me it was a disgraceful decision.
“It’s happening week after week for us, and I’m sick of talking about it.
“Cowdenbeath was another prime example, these are massive, important games for us, and referees are giving penalties for absolutely nothing.
“It’s getting beyond a joke now, and I’m looking to take it further, to speak to their supervisor.
“Referees will go home and think they’ve had a good game, and they don’t realise the consequences it has for everybody at the club.
“The amount of soft penalties we’ve had against us this season is getting beyond a joke now, and it can’t just be bad luck all the time.
“There’s got to be something more to it, and that’s what is really concerning me.
“It was the exact same at the Cowdenbeath game, a penalty for absolutely nothing.
“It’s not good enough, something has to be done, because I’m not going to stand and watch that.
“We’re putting all the hard work in, and we’re getting points gifted against us, and it’s really disappointing.”
Reid added: “We deserved to walk away with at least a point, but with refereeing decisions like that it’s getting to comical stages.
“If there’s any contact in the box it doesn’t matter what happened. If a striker runs in, kicks the goalkeeper and falls down, I suppose that’s a penalty now, because it seems to be.
“I said to the referee he has to be 100 per cent certain, in injury time, that it’s a penalty.
“I mean, it’s just embarrassing, to be honest. That’s what I said to him, and I’ll be taking my report further to the supervisor.
“I keep saying it will even itself out, but I think if that had been in our box we wouldn’t have got a penalty there – that’s the way it’s going.
“They seem to be too keen to give penalties against Albion Rovers and it cannot continue, because it’s costing us big-time in points.”
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