Jim McInally has launched a scathing attack on referee Chris Graham and the SFA after Peterhead failed to overturn Simon Ferry’s red card against Clyde.
The Blue Toon will be without the midfielder for four games, starting with this afternoon’s meeting with Raith Rovers at Stark’s Park, after the appeal was dismissed at Hampden yesterday.
Ferry was sent off by whistler Graham, despite footage appearing to show him winning the ball, in a sliding challenge with the Bully Wee’s Ray Grant.
Buchan boss McInally said: “I’m shocked at the decision, but I suppose I shouldn’t be because the committee always seem keen to protect their referees.
“I’m annoyed with what’s gone on because one of the most honest players in Scottish football has come out with a four-game ban from a tackle where he came out worst and had stud marks from his knee right down his shin.
“That’s the most galling part of it that it puts Simon out for four games, we’ll be without him until February 8.
“I find it laughable when we have Premiership teams calling for VAR to be introduced and this was a VAR-like situation where we had footage and people looked at it and still came to the wrong decision.
“After the game Clyde players were saying it wasn’t a foul and in the days that followed one of the linesmen had told a friend of a friend that he didn’t think it was a red card.
“We’ll never ever know this, but in my opinion I think the referee meant to send the Clyde player off, but then in the melee that ensued when he showed the red card he got lost in what happened.
“That’s purely just my opinion and I don’t think he’ll admit that, but I do think players from both sides were a disgrace after the card came out squaring up to each other and inflaming the situation and the referee didn’t know how to deal with it.
“I saw still pictures and I’ve watched the footage and to me it looks like he’s showing the Clyde player the red card, but that’s only my opinion.”
Peterhead make their fourth trip to Stark’s Park today having lost to League One leaders Raith in the Betfred Cup (3-1), in the league (4-0) and Scottish Cup (1-0).
McInally added: “There’s no getting away from it – Simon is one of our best players.
“But by the same token we have played plenty of games and won plenty of games without him before and we need to try to do it again.
“If we can try and not concede in the first 10 minutes that would be a good start.
“In the three games we’ve basically been starting a goal down because we’ve conceded early and that only makes things harder.
“It would be good if we could keep ourselves in the game for a while and not be chasing immediately.”
