Aberdeen manager Derek McInnes criticised the decision by referee Steven McLean to allow Motherwell’s added-time goal to stand as the Dons lost out to the Steelmen in the chase to finish second in the Premiership.
Craig Reid’s hugely contentious late winner gave Well the win they needed to finish above the Dons but goalkeeper Jamie Langfield was clearly impeded by Motherwell striker John Sutton in coming for the ball, only for McLean to allow play to continue.
The decision was a costly one on two fronts for the Dons as they lost £240,000 in prize money and will also be back in action on July 3 – two weeks earlier than hoped – in the Europa League first qualifying round.
McInnes said: “It’s stonewall, a terrible challenge. It’s a free kick on my goalkeeper and I think if the referee sees it again he’ll be embarrassed.
“Mistakes happen. I was delighted when I saw Steven was refereeing this game but he’s got this one badly wrong.
“Maybe it wasn’t exciting enough. There was a lot of build-up to it and the game was just playing out. The mistake hasn’t come from our players, it came from a decision and that makes it harder to take.
“There were a couple of mistakes by officials which lead to Motherwell’s winning goal. It’s a foul on Jamie Langfield, I’ve seen it several times now and John Sutton didn’t get any connection on the ball.
“He barges into Jamie, took him out of it and they’ve scored on the back of it. Also, it might seem a small thing but it’s big in the context of what happened, but the free kick was taken a considerable distance away from where it should have been.”
The decision to let the goal stand left Aberdeen crestfallen and the Dons players collapsed in disbelief at the full-time whistle as the implications of the defeat set in, but McInnes insists his squad can be proud of their efforts both during the season and in yesterday’s final game.
He said: “Even when Motherwell were chasing it I felt we were comfortable, I didn’t feel we were ever going to lose a goal. The players felt like that and so did the supporters, but maybe it just wasn’t exciting enough for some. We’re hurting, as you would expect, but the players have been fantastic for me all season and we will bounce back from this.”
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