‘Bizarre’ call as referee gave Lanark United foul instead of penalty retake

Lanark United player-interim manager Hugh Kerr (Pic by Billy Quigley)

Lanark United’s 2-0 home defeat by Kilsyth Rangers on Saturday featured a controversial incident when the referee inexplicably restarted the match with a free-kick to the hosts – instead of a retake – after disallowing Ryan Deas’s second-half penalty for the visitors as one of his team-mates had encroached in the box.

United interim co player-manager Hugh ‘Shug’ Kerr told the Carluke and Lanark Gazette: “I couldn’t take the grin off my face. I didn’t know what was happening at all until big Cammy (United player Lawson) picked the ball up and got the game moving again with a free-kick.

“I think everybody else on the park and even everybody off the park from both sides knew the referee had made a mistake.

“I couldn’t believe what happened. I didn’t know what he had given in the first place.

“It wasn’t clear until I saw Cammy grab the ball and twigged he’d given us a free-kick, but obviously in the rules, that should never really happen.

“It should always be a retake if it’s encroachment. It was really bizarre.”

United, who later had their other interim co-player-manager, Mark Haddow, sent off, lost to a double by Deas, the second of which was a penalty awarded for handball.