A debut goal from Topi Keskinen ensured Aberdeen are once again in the Premier Sports Cup quarter-finals – but how was the officiating in the 1-0 win over Queen’s Park?
The referee at Pittodrie was Colin Steven, and with no VAR in the League Cup, he had to rely on his own judgement and support from his assistant referees running the line.
Aberdeen’s Pape Habib Gueye received, in my opinion, a harsh early booking for going up for, and mistiming, a challenge with the Queen’s goalkeeper.
A foul yes, but for me not a booking – as it was a ball Gueye was entitled to go for.
Dom Thomas dive and dissent going unpunished was shocker
I was then shocked by another incident which did not result in a booking.
Just before the 40-minute mark, Queen’s Park looked to break as Dom Thomas carried the ball forward.
Dons midfielder Jamie McGrath went to put in what would have been a fairly poor challenge – but made no contact with the advancing Queen’s player, who hit the deck anyway.
It was a clear dive in my opinion, which referee Steven saw and just waved play on.
The referee’s treatment of the incident was made even more bizarre when Thomas clearly showed dissent towards the whistler for not awarding him the foul.
I’ve never seen a player react like to a refereeing decision in the manner he did and not get booked for it.
Bookings for dissent are both easy to give and easy to avoid/ Steven surprised me by not taking the opportunity to stamp his authority on proceedings and set the tone with the players about what he would tolerate.
If you don’t deal with cases of clear dissent, players will continue to think they can speak to officials any way they please.
I thought the referee let a lot go in the game generally, as there were also a few cases of time-wasting by the away side not dealt with.
Ester Sokler offside call was right one
The only other major decision came at the start of the second half after Ester Sokler thought he had given the Dons a one-goal lead.
The offside flag was raised, though, and it was the correct decision, as Sokler just moved slightly early.
Finlay Elder was a registered referee for six years and a category 5 official from 2019, with experience in the Highland League, Juniors and Club Academy.
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