REFS chief Willie Collum has candidly confessed to Kilmarnock manager Derek McInnes that his club was FAILED badly in Paisley by sub-standard officiating.
McInnes was left irate by events in Killie’s last game, the 2-2 draw against St Mirren on September 14, when Joe Wright got a straight red for serious foul play – but Saints defender Shaun Rooney didn’t despite appearing to put the boot into a grounded Kyle Vassell.
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Ref Matthew MacDermid had earlier shown no hesitation in dismissing stopper Wright for an incident with Rooney, aided by VAR man Andrew Dallas.
But then, to McInnes’ fury, the whistler didn’t even speak to Rooney for his actions with Vassell while Dallas also didn’t intervene.
There was also a first half episode involving Saints striker Mikael Mandron.
Mandron had already been carded for a foul on Wright when he then went through Stuart Findlay – but MacDermid decided not to bring out another yellow plus red.
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McInnes confirmed he had a lengthy phone conversation with SFA guru Collum and claimed he was quick to concede the performance of all the key officials on the day had been lamentable.
The Killie gaffer – his side entertain Dundee United on Saturday – said: “The performance against St Mirren after a full week’s training was exactly how we were last season.
“And for me it was a winning performance.
“If the officials do their job right then we probably win that game.
“There’s no two ways about it for me.
“We felt really let down on some of the decisions. That has now been validated by the referee department.
“It was validated by a phone call that I had with Willie Collum on the Monday after the game.
“There’s not much they can do after the event and I accept that there’s a need for them to be better – and they SHOULD have been better.
“I thought it was a real low for the refereeing department, that performance.
“At times you see the benefits of VAR and that was a real case in point where VAR highlighted how poor a VAR decision it was as well, not helping the referee.
“I didn’t get a phone call, I phoned him.
“I feel I’ve always had a good line of communication with Willie when he was a referee, as a player or a manager.
“I’m not here to praise the referee department, Willie in particular, because they’re being transparent.
“I think it’s the way it SHOULD be – and I’m glad that he senses that way.
“I do think he’s a guy who will make change and get things right over time and I think he’ll implement a standard that’s needed.
“I think we’ve got some really good referees and good officials in the country – but we’ve also got a few who need some work.
“And for me it’s quite galling the fact that the St Mirren player involved plays next week and Joe gets a three-game ban.
“Joe Wright is involved in the penalty-kick with the same player, they get penalties involved in an incident.
“Joe was rightly condemned by me and has been punished to the full extent because he’s allowed himself to get involved in the situation.
“But for the on-field stuff and decisions, we were badly let down as a club…BADLY.
“And that was recognised by Willie.
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“So at least there’s that kind of acceptance of it.
“If that had happened to an Old Firm club, you would still be going on about it forever.
“It had a huge impact on the result – but it was just seen as a bad day at the office for wee Kilmarnock who move on.
“We just felt so let down. I couldn’t believe what was happening to be honest with one or two.”
McInnes added: “The Mandron one I’m okay with, to be honest.
“The fact that Willie said it should have been a red card offence doesn’t help us at the time.
“But it certainly would have been if St Mirren had been down to nine men halfway through the first half – then we are winning that game of football.
“The other one, I thought there was no place for that type of behavior by any player on a football pitch and it should have been dealt with.”
Quizzed on consequences for refs if they below level displays, McInnes said: “Listen, that’s up to the referee department.
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“If you have a bad day, you have a bad day – and it didn’t help our day at the time.
“I’m not here to jump all over referees.
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“But it was a poor afternoon from the refereeing department – and Willie’s acknowledged that.
“You expect better and I’m sure they will be better going forward, but it was disappointing.”
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