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This day 2008, the full story (thread)
It& #39;s a Saturday, Rangers V Dundee United is an early kick off live on Setanta. It& #39;s the season& #39;s penultimate league game with United looking for a Uefa Cup place & Rangers looking to be SPL champions. Mike McCurry was the referee, a jaw-dropping spectacle ensued.
- A stonewall penalty for United was turned down. Had it been given, David Weir would& #39;ve been sent off
- A deflected Danny Swanson goal was ruled out for offside despite coming off David Weir
- Daniel Cousin headbutted Lee Wilkie
- Noel Hunt was punched by Kirk Broadfoot
- A deflected Danny Swanson goal was ruled out for offside despite coming off David Weir
- Daniel Cousin headbutted Lee Wilkie
- Noel Hunt was punched by Kirk Broadfoot
- Mark de Vries scored & was then yellowed for sarcasm
- Neil Alexander jumped into the Broomloan Stand crowd celebrating a goal, no card
Two days later, McCurry admitted that he& #39;d made mistakes. United lodged a formal complaint with SFA.
- Neil Alexander jumped into the Broomloan Stand crowd celebrating a goal, no card
Two days later, McCurry admitted that he& #39;d made mistakes. United lodged a formal complaint with SFA.
Craig Levein, the future Scotland manager, said, "We& #39;d have been as well leaving, really. Mike could have phoned me this morning & said & #39;Rangers are going to get three points today, just tell your lads to stay in the house.& #39;
"It& #39;s impossible to win here in important games, impossible to win. The referee has bottled it. He bottled it because he knew that if he& #39;s given the penalty he would have to send Davie Weir off. In this game who gives a toss about Dundee United, eh? Who cares?
"What will happen now is I& #39;ll get my wrists slapped. But he knew it was a penalty but knew the game was so important to Rangers that he couldn& #39;t give it. His assistant probably had a better view of it but he& #39;s not going to put his head above the parapet.
"It& #39;s Rangers, it& #39;s Ibrox, you can& #39;t win. An important game going for a title decider? You can& #39;t have United winning that game. I& #39;ll be sitting in front of some disciplinary committee in a few weeks time getting a fine, that& #39;s what will happen now.
"After the CIS Cup Final, I did my absolute best not to have a go at Kenny Clark for denying us a blatant penalty. Maybe some people have mistaken kindness for weakness on my part. There is no doubt if you add what happened today I have every right to be furious. Every right.
"These decisions add up. It might be that an extra £125,000 for a league place is added to my budget. It might mean an extra place for me next season. It might mean when I get an injury I could put a good player on rather than a kid. But it is all about the pressure on Rangers."
United director Derek Robertson said, "It& #39;s widely thought that there is a bias shown against & #39;provincial& #39; clubs when visiting Glasgow. Saturday& #39;s game is highlighted as a prime example of this. This is damaging to the game as a whole."
"Dundee United believes that this situation should not be allowed to continue without careful examination & constructive proposals & dialogue between the clubs & the authorities. For the record, the club will be backing the manager on all the important issues raised."
Noel Hunt said, "It just seems to be Rangers & Celtic& #39;s league. But it& #39;s not just about them, we don& #39;t care about them. We were pushing for Europe. You can& #39;t get more of a stonewall penalty. You can& #39;t beat 12 men, to be honest. Whatever the excuse they have got away with it."
Gordon Smith, SFA Chief Executive, said, "To impinge on a man& #39;s integrity in this way is extremely unfair. To suggest that there was any kind of agenda behind the decisions made on the day does a massive disservice to the game &, quite frankly, is completely unfair."
Craig Levein was later fined £5,000. It would emerge years later that Rangers had fielded 5 improperly registered players that day (Sasa Papac, Carlos Cuellar, Barry Ferguson, Nacho Novo, Kris Boyd). Mike McCurry would never again referee in the top flight | #DUFC
