Latest news with #DarkBlues
The Courier
2 days ago
- Sport
- The Courier
Dundee and VAR: Willie Collum insists ref was right on Ross County penalty that relegated St Johnstone
Willie Collum says Nick Walsh was right to award the penalty kick that denied Dundee a crucial victory over Ross County and relegated St Johnstone. Heading into stoppage time in the penultimate fixture of the season, the Dark Blues were leading 1-0 at Dens Park. A win would see the Dee safe from relegation and would also give Saints the opportunity to overtake the Staggies on the final day. However, ref Nick Walsh controversially punished Antonio Portales for handball and Ronan Hale equalised from the spot. The decision was branded 'an absolute disgrace'. However, head of refereeing Collum has backed his official. In the monthly VAR Review from the SFA on YouTube, audio from the incident has been released. After the ball brushed Portales's arm, VAR Andrew Dallas said: 'I need to check that.' Referee Nick Walsh: 'Penalty. Handball. I think the arm is above shoulder height.' VAR: 'Slight touch on his head and then it hits off the hand. VAR: 'Nick, it's Andrew. We're just going to check the APP (attacking phase of play). Just to tell you his team-mate's headed it and [Portales] has his back to him. 'But the arm is above the head, above shoulder height. It's close proximity but it does hit his hand and it's above shoulder height. 'There's no impact from the attacker on the defender. 'Confirming on-field decision of penalty kick. Check complete.' Willie Collum defended the decision but admitted interpretation of the handball law may change for next season. He said: 'We have listened to a lot of the perception of the decision. I won't ever just defend decisions in this show. 'I'll be open and transparent. 'In terms of the laws of the game, this is a correct interpretation because the arm is far too high above the head. 'The referee is right in his judgement to award the penalty kick. 'There is nothing in the law to say it should be ruled out. It says that anybody with an arm high in the air runs the risk of being punished. 'The referee was very clear, the VAR discuss the situation so when that is clarified there is no reason to bring the referee to the monitor here. 'People have said that but why? 'In terms of law this season, that is a correct interpretation. 'I would say we think we are in a better place in terms of handball. We looked at a lot of clips from last season to learn. This is a clip we need to look at again. 'We have a lot of discussion post-season with this kind of incident. 'There's a possibility next season [it isn't given]. We will listen to people's views. There are a lot of ifs and buts but in terms of law nobody can say that isn't given.' The VAR Review also covered two other controversial decisions that went against the Dark Blues. Collum admitted he was 'disappointed' in VAR's process to review a push by Kilmarnock's Kyle Vassell on Simon Murray not because it was a foul but because it was outside the area. Another involving Antonio Portales proved far more controversial. The Mexican had already volleyed in one beauty against Motherwell and struck another into the top corner to put Dundee 2-0 up. However, offside was given against Clark Robertson in the build-up, a decision then-Dee boss Tony Docherty blasted as a 'disgrace'. Again Collum backed the decision but admitted the referee should have been brought to the monitor to review it personally. He said: '[Clark Robertson] comes out to challenge the Motherwell player and moves his leg to challenge. Making that challenging motion, that was enough for the VAR team to say this was impact. 'We shared this clip far and wide. The KMI panel looked at it in detail, we looked at it with the referees. 'It was probably 60-40 in favour of offside. That means we want to review it, look at it in the close season with the clubs, players and coaches as well as the match officials to think about our direction of travel moving forward. 'We are content with the decision. Where we are not content is the process. Categorically, the referee should have been brought to the monitor. 'This is not a factual decision. It is factual that the player is offside, but subjective whether he impacts the move. 'That should be left to the on-field match official.'
The Courier
3 days ago
- Sport
- The Courier
Dundee announce first pre-season friendly
Managerless Dundee have lined up their first friendly ahead of the 2025/26 season. The Dark Blues remain in the hunt to find Tony Docherty's successor after his sacking on May 19. Preparations, though, for the new season are still being made with the club's pre-season schedule being put together. The first match of the campaign is expected to be on July 12 in the Premier Sports Cup. They will kick off their pre-season at Arbroath two weeks before that. The newly-crowned League One champions will host the Dark Blues on Saturday, June 28. Kick off will be 3pm.
BBC News
3 days ago
- General
- BBC News
Dundee to face Arbroath in pre-season
Dundee will face newly-promoted Championship side Arbroath in a pre-season currently managerless Dark Blues travel to Gayfield on Saturday 28 June for a 15:00 BST sacked Tony Docherty following the conclusion of the 2024-25 season after the club finished just above Ross County in the relegation play-off spot.
The Courier
4 days ago
- Sport
- The Courier
Gordon Strachan says Dundee set for 'new philosophy' with next boss as Dens chief reveals appointment timeline
There will be a 'new philosophy' beginning at Dundee with the appointment of a new manager says technical director Gordon Strachan. The Dark Blues are on the recruitment drive for a new boss for the third time in the past four years after sacking Tony Docherty. Docherty led the Dens Park side to safety in the Premiership but results fell short of the standard expected according to the club. Now the search for his replacement is set to stretch into a third week, as revealed by Courier Sport on Wednesday. Now the club's technical director Strachan has confirmed that timescale saying a new man could be in place 'within the next eight days'. And there will be more change than just a new manager as managing director John Nelms begins a shake-up behind the scenes. 'At the moment, John's got a short list. That doesn't mean they're all small people!' Strachan joked to the Edinburgh Evening News. 'It's just that John's got about four or five that he's talking to in the next couple of weeks. He knows what's needed, he knows what type of manager he's after. 'Over the last three years, he's changed manager. But each manager must be proud of what they've done. 'Because we were promoted to the Scottish Premiership with one manager, Gary Bowyer, and then Tony's taken over in there. 'John's now decided that he sees something else that he needs, so that's what he's doing now. 'I would imagine within the next eight days, there'll probably be an announcement, and there'll be a shake-up in what we actually do with the coaching staff. 'There'll be a new philosophy in the coaching, to be honest with you.'
The Courier
4 days ago
- Sport
- The Courier
Dundee manager search latest as wait for new Dens boss explained
Dundee are hoping to unveil their new managerial appointment next week as the club's recruitment process for Tony Docherty's successor takes a leap forward. The Dark Blues sacked Docherty last Monday before welcoming applications and sifting through candidates. Talks have begun with those on managing director John Nelms's long list before that is whittled down to a short list and further interviews will take place. Nelms is meeting with potential managers across Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. The hope at Dens Park is there will be a new man to announce by the end of next week. However, it could well go beyond that. Dundee chief Nelms is determined to cover all the bases in the search for Docherty's replacement. There is precedent for this situation. Three of the past four years have now seen the Dark Blues recruit a new manager for the season ahead. The timescales of previous chases suggest there will still be some time before a new man is in place. Following relegation from the Premiership and the sacking of Mark McGhee on May 14, Gary Bowyer was appointed on June 8 – over three weeks later. Amid that saw talks with Shaun Maloney break down while former Blackburn manager Steve Kean was also among the final candidates in 2022. After winning the Championship, Bowyer was sacked on May 10. The search for his successor saw talks with Callum Davidson collapse before Tony Docherty became the new man at the helm. His appointment came on May 29, just less than three weeks after Bowyer's departure. Taking three weeks as the average time line for a Dundee manager recruitment process, that would see a new boss announced around June 9. The club hope the process can be completed before then. Shaun Maloney very quickly became the frontrunner for the job and remains very much in contention. The Dark Blues, though, insist there is no favoured candidate as Nelms meets with a number of potential managers over the coming days. The long list features at least 10 names, possibly more, and will be whittled down over the coming days. Showing interest in the job have been former Dundee midfielders Temuri Ketsbaia and Charlie Adam while ex-Dundee United boss Robbie Neilson revealed he is 'definitely' interested in the role. Ayr United boss Scott Brown and St Mirren manager Stephen Robinson also feature high in the bookmakers runners and riders.
