Ref watch: Was Aberdeen v Ross County at danger of being postponed – and should the Dons have been awarded a penalty?

There was no happy new year for Aberdeen as they were beaten once again in the league as Ross County ran out 2-1 winners.

The referee for this one was David Dickinson, being supported on VAR by Kevin Clancy.

How did the referee and officiating team get on at Pittodrie?

The conditions were very challenging with the referee halting play in the first half in order for the pitch to be cleared of snow. This was the correct call from the referee as the lines were becoming incredibly difficult to make out.

I don’t think the weather was ever bad enough for the game to have to be postponed.

I must say the staff did an excellent job at half time to remove all the snow off the pitch, which resulted in there being no further issues with snow.

Should Dons have had a penalty?

The first big decision in the game came in the second half.

First half substitute Kevin Nisbet went down under the challenge of Ross County defender Kacper Lopata as he attempted to get onto the rebound of his own shot.

At the time I thought it could have been a penalty but, after seeing the incident again, it wasn’t a deliberate trip or action. It was just two players going for the ball and getting tangled together.

No penalty was correct in my opinion.

The Dons wanted another penalty when Luis ‘Duk’ Lopes was taken down by Noah Kenneh.

The referee instead awarded an indirect free kick for simulation and cautioned ‘Duk’.

My first reaction was why would he go down as he had worked himself into a very good position.

Having seen a replay I do think there is contact, but it is minimal and also outside of the box.

Therefore VAR could not intervene, even if they thought the referee had made a clear and obvious error.

Overall, I thought the referee had a reasonable game.

He was generous to award a few fouls, particularly to Ross County’s Connor Randall.

Every time he appealed the referee gave him a foul. He even managed to get Topi Keskinen booked for a foul that was never a foul.

But, given the difficult conditions, I thought the referee managed the game well enough.