02-05-2025
Fuming Cambuslang Rangers boss claims poor ref standard 'will cost club'
Paul McColl insists 'poor decisions' are massively impacting on games
Furious Cambuslang Rangers boss Paul McColl blasted referee Steven Clark for his handling of their 3-0 derby defeat at home to Lanark United, and says the standard is going to cost them.
McColl insists he's not a sore loser, but said the young whistler made baffling decisions for both sides during the game, including sending off Aaron McNeil in 25 minutes for two fouls.
Three 3-0 defeats on the bounce have left Camby just a point above the relegation zone, and McColl says they need wins in their last two games.
Seething McColl said: 'There wasn't a lot in the game, but every second week our referee is ghastly, and now it's beyond a joke – something needs to be done.
'Before the game started he moaned about Carlos Lyon's socks, he fixed them. He held the game up for five minutes, then tells us to put cones out as an area for the management team, when we just stand at the dug-out.
'The game got delayed for about six minutes because of him. One of Lanark's players had black Under Armour on, nobody even noticed, and the ref told him to take it off, so that was another two minutes.
'He sent one of our guys off in 25 minutes for two tackles. The first one wasn't even a foul, the second one he's trying to have a shot, a defender goes to block, and he's kicked him slightly.
'When you're down to 10 men for 65 minutes it does make a difference, and that was never a red card.
'The ref was abysmal and cost us the game. I've never seen anything as poor in all my life.
'But when the game was at 0-0, we missed an absolute sitter. It was a great free kick from Carlos, a good save, and Nicky Hardy has put it over the bar.'
Camby aren't in action again until they visit Muirkirk on May 10, with Bonnyton Thistle the following weekend, and McColl reckons they may need two wins to survive.
He said: 'I'm not a bad loser, if we get beat we get beat fair, but every week or every second week we're getting refs who shouldn't be anywhere near this level.
'In seven games we've had red cards and we've not won any of those games – that's not a coincidence.
'You're not going to win a game when you get a man sent off, and I'm going to guess at least four of them shouldn't have happened.
'It's costing us, big time. Refs are throwing cards about like confetti and it's out of hand.
'We've got two games left, we might need to win the two of them, maybe one, we just don't know at this point.
'A few teams round about us won at the weekend, and that makes me even more annoyed.'
