St Mirren manager Craig McLeish has expressed disappointment after being handed a Scottish Football Association (SFA) disciplinary charge over comments he made about referee Sean Murdoch. The incident arose following St Mirren's 1-0 defeat to Dunfermline in the Premier Sports Cup on Sunday, where a goal was disallowed for what McLeish believes was not a foul.
McLeish stated: 'I don’t feel like it’s a foul on the goalkeeper. I would need to see it back. That would have been massive for us.' He also questioned the penalty awarded by Murdoch, saying: 'I think the penalty is soft too but we bring the pressure on ourselves towards the end of the game just with how we approached it when they started pressing high. We only have ourselves to blame unfortunately.'
During a post-match interview on Premier Sports, McLeish's comments drew criticism from pundit Charlie Mulgrew, who questioned the decision and suggested bias among match officials. McLeish responded: 'Who was he a goalkeeper for?' indicating his skepticism about the referee's background.
McLeish has received an SFA notice of complaint accusing him of breaching a rule that forbids criticism which indicates 'bias or incompetence' on match officials or impinges on their characters. The charge comes after recent shifts in SFA tolerance towards such comments, including incidents involving John Beaton and Derek McInnes.
The manager is scheduled to face a disciplinary hearing on August 2nd, where he will need to address the charges and potentially defend his actions. He has also stated that he will speak with Keith Lasley, St Mirren's chief operating officer, and the club before responding to the matter.
