HIBS manager Neil Lennon did not hold back in his assessment of the refereeing decision that cost his side two points against Kilmarnock at Rugby Park calling Scottish referees “amateur” and “Mickey Mouse”.
Hibs let a 2-0 lead slip against Kilmarnock at Rugby Park, with the Ayrshire side equalising following a penalty decision that Lennon is in no doubt shouldn’t have been given by referee Kevin Clancy. “It's impossible for him to give that,” said Lennon. “I think he's guessed.
“We've seen it again and he can't see it from the angle he's at.”
And Lennon, who was sent to the stand following his reaction to the penalty which saw him clap sarcastically in Clancy’s face, believes that the harshness of the decision was as a result of the criticism he directed at the ref earlier in the season. “This is the same referee who didn't given us a clear hand ball against Rangers at Easter Road,” he said. “Me being sent off without really being over-critical of the decision at the time, he's made it personal because I criticised him after the Easter Road game. It's cost us two points today.
“Why can’t we send referees off when they are so blatantly ruining the game.
“I don’t want him refereeing us again this season. But I probably won’t get my way on that.”
Lennon did not save his wrath exclusively for Clancy, with the entire standard of Scottish refereeing slaughtered by the Hibs manager. “I'm at my wits end with referees at the minute,” he said. “I've kept low key on it this season but some of the decisions have been absolutely horrendous. You ring John Fleming (the SFA referee’s chief) on a Monday and you get the same yeah, yeah. You go round in circles and I've lost a lot of faith in it to tell you the truth. It's amateur. Mickey Mouse stuff.
“The standard needs to get better - they are not good enough.
“Every week we are talking about blatantly obvious decisions which are being called wrong. The standard is declining as the game in Scotland is improving.”
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