On Saturday, a Duk double meant Aberdeen beat Kilmarnock 2-0 and leapfrogged Hearts to go third in the Premiership table. But how was the officiating in the clash?
Below, our expert Finlay Elder gives his view on the performances of referee Don Robertson and his supporting cast of officials, including VAR.
How did they fare? And what impact did they have on the game?
Clear Ramadani foul on Armstrong before opener was missed… but, crucially, it didn’t have bearing on goal
It didn’t take Aberdeen long to take the lead at Pittodrie – in fact, within the first 16 seconds, Luis “Duk” Lopes would fire the Dons in front.
However, what perhaps when unnoticed inside the ground, in the build-up to the lethal Duk finish, was Albanian international Ylber Ramadani’s collision with Daniel Armstrong of Kilmarnock.
On first viewing. I thought it was just a clumsy coming together and most certainly not a foul from Ramadani.
However, on second viewing Ramadani clearly intends to knock the Killie player over.
Go on Rama pic.twitter.com/tBJOcPh7xc
— Jamie (@covedon82) April 8, 2023
I don’t think the referee has a clear view of the foul, which is why he doesn’t give it.
As per the VAR protocols, they can get involved with decisions taken/not taken in the build-up to a goal – but was not penalising the Dons midfielder a clear and obvious error from ref Don Robertson in that respect?
In my opinion, in isolation, it was certainly a foul to Kilmarnock and Aberdeen got away with one.
However, the challenge had no impact on the actual goal itself.
Aberdeen didn’t win possession because of the foul, nor did they break forward because of it.
I think It was the right decision to award the goal, but the Reds were lucky the referee never spotted Ramadani’s barge when it happened.
Three penalty claims – but ref Robertson rule correctly in awarding none of them
Both teams would have penalty shouts in the first half.
The first came for Kilmarnock when Armstrong again went down, this time under pressure from Reds midfielder and Liverpool loanee Leighton Clarkson.
There was slight contact, but certainly not enough for a foul and a penalty kick to be awarded, so no penalty was the correct decision from the ref.
Aberdeen’s first penalty shout would then come when striker Bojan Miovski looked to have been bundled over by Killie defender Jeriel Dorsett just as he looked set to double the Dons’ advantage from close range.
At first you have to think penalty – he’s come through from behind and taken the man down.
However, on second viewing, the defender just got a touch on the ball before the two players collided and no penalty was again the correct decision.
Note: Killie’s Sam Walker was forced to palm the ball away after it ricocheted out of the tackle, but this wasn’t a passback as tackles do not count as deliberately playing the ball.
Aberdeen would then have another penalty shout for a pull on Jonny Hayes as he broke into the Killie area, with Armstrong again involved. Again there was some contact, but was it enough for a penalty?
In my opinion, no, as I think Hayes knew he was not going to get to the ball, felt the slight pull and went down.
Killie youngster Watson would have walked if he used any more force in flashpoint with Ramadani
Before VAR even had a chance to review the Hayes penalty claim, they had to check for a potential red card.
Ramadani would go down somewhat easily on the touchline, managing to successfully keep the ball in play.
Kilmarnock youngster David Watson then fired in and hit the ball off the prone Aberdeen midfielder, nearly catching him with his boot in the process, with referee Robertson showing Watson a yellow card.
I think the Kilmarnock player could consider himself very lucky it was only the ball he made contact with in what looked to be a pretty pointless act of frustration.
If he had made any more substantial contact with Ramadani, it could easily have been a red.
It was a very risky thing to do, and I have seen referees flash red cards just for booting the ball off of an opponent like that from close range.
I think a yellow was just about the correct call, as Watson didn’t put too much force into hitting the ball and didn’t make much, if any contact with the Ramadani.
Overall, I thought Don Robertson and his team had a good game, and they got most of the major calls correct in my opinion.
- Finlay Elder has been a registered referee for six years and a category 5 official since 2019, with experience in the Highland League, juniors and Club Academy.
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