BRENDAN Rodgers insists he has no issue with Don Robertson being on the officiating team for tomorrow's Old Firm William Hill Scottish Cup semi-final but warned him that any further high profile errors will be incompatible with him going on to become a 'top class' referee. Robertson, who will be one of Willie Collum's additional goalline assistant referees for the match against Rangers, was at the centre of controversy during Celtic's 2-2 league draw in Dingwall on Sunday when he misinterpreted a clear dive from Ross County striker Alex Schalk in the direction of Erik Sviatchenko as a penalty.
John Fleming, the SFA's head of refereeing, phoned the Northern Irishman this week to offer his apologies for the error, and while Rodgers appreciated the gesture he feels that the only person who Robertson should be saying sorry to is Sviatchenko. The former Swansea City and Liverpool manager is generally scathing about the standard of refereeing in Scotland, compared with south of the border, although he accepts Scottish football cannot compare to the riches available to finance things like full-time training and goalline technology.
"I don't want to throw the kid to the garbage when he is trying to learn his profession but if he makes too many of them he is not going to be a top class referee, it is as simple as that," said Rodgers, who also feels Robertson should have had more help from his assistant referees. "Is he on the side? Behind the goal? Well he had better not do what the Ross County guy did and miss that one. That would be two in a week and then he is really struggling to be a top class ref. But get him out there. Get his composure, clear your mind and be the best that you can be. We have to help him. We have to help raise the standard.
"I took a call from John Fleming, apologising on Don's behalf," said Rodgers. "It was a very respectful and courteous thing to do. I don't need Don to ring me, I just need him to apologise to Erik.
"I said exactly to him [Fleming] what I said to you," he added. "It [Robertson's appointment for Sunday] is co-incidence obviously with the decision but what do you do? With all due respect up here you don't have the budget, the referees aren't full-time, and you don't have the resources that some of these other countries where I have come from have. You have a small pool of referees you are trying to promote and you have to help them. I am all for that.
"But like I say, if you make too many, you will suffer in your career. And the biggest thing, the thing you crave as a referee, is you lose the respect of players. If you make a decision like that which you have to see, then players lose trust in your decision making in the game and that is not what you want to do."
Rodgers - also on the wrong end of a contentious penalty decision for a Clint Hill tackle on Leigh Griffiths late on in the previous Old Firm match - defended the club's decision to appeal Scott Brown's red card on the day, which coupled with the Easter holidays, means that his captain is available tomorrow. "I didn’t think it was a red card hence the reason for us to appeal – irrespective of Easter holidays and notes from the SFA," he said. "I felt yes the player was caught late but we appeal because of the inconsistency. This was the same referee when Kieran Tierney got a challenge in the Motherwell game at home and the guy [Ryan Bowman] got a yellow card.
"Scott was a fraction late," he added. "Yes it was aggressive and at speed but it was mistimed. And it was also following a moment of … what I think we’ve all seen ... so it’s absolutely natural for a player to be angered. Am I glad to have him? Absolutely because he’s been outstanding and not once has he ever shown that this season. Not once."
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