When was the last time a ref's decisions unfairly benefitted Hibs?

[basehibby]

The majority of debateable decisions in Scotland tend to revolve around niggly fouls which often seem to be ignored to "let the game flow" or because "it's a man's game".

Hibs as a club tend to a less cynical style than many - I'm thinking the likes of the Jambos and Airdrie here - because of the pride the fanbase have in the likes of the famous 5 and their reputation for silky football.

The regretable result is that cheats are often allowed to prosper in Scottish football with clubs effectively penalised for NOT taking a cynical attitude to the game. This is a weight round the neck of the Scottish game as good players are often kicked out of the game (Duncan Watmore anybody?) whereas hammer throwers who will not cut it at a high level are over-represented. Also when we venture into Europe we tend to NOT get away with the sort of niggly fouls which we are used to being ignored - thereby handing the initiative to the opposition.

[Keith_M]

I'm amazed how few yellow cards were dished out to Motherwell yesterday. They really are a dirty bunch of cloggers.

[snooky]

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I must admit that having been at the game & watched highlights i still have no idea why we got the pen. Having said that the timewasting & downright cheating was shocking. The thing that kicked it off was when Combe put the ball out for a throw in about 30/40 yards out. It wasn't even certain it was intentional. Jim Lauchlan had been writhing about in agony but when we took the throw in to ourselves he was up & running like Usain Bolt! I'm sure the howls of outrage from the Hibs fans helped us win the pen almost immediately after. Karma!
PS Freeland was the most incompetent ref ever but he was a sheep fan & I always wondered whether that helped him give the decision against the other half of the New Firm.

Dundee Untd in those days were a horrible team. Totally anti football and full of gamesmanship. I don't mind them nowadays but back then and before, I despised playing them.

[Onion]

Giving retrospective reds to Hearts players after derby matches and downgrading reds given to Hibs players post match is the norm and proves that these things even out over time

[snooky]

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Giving retrospective reds to Hearts players after derby matches and downgrading reds given to Hibs players post match is the norm and proves that these things even out over time

They do. We've done the bumpy part. Time for the flat bit shirley.

[erin go bragh]

Can't for the life of me, remember us getting any kind of decision in our favour in a derby . But decisions against us in derby matches by officials,that's another matter.

[--------]

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Dundee Untd in those days were a horrible team. Totally anti football and full of gamesmanship. I don't mind them nowadays but back then and before, I despised playing them.

That was Alex Smith's responsibility. As already said, smug, cynical and shameless. I also remember the look on his face when Freeland gave the penalty - smug gloat turning to absolute disbelief and outrage.

I've often thought that Freeland gave us the penalty because he was a pee'd off with the Arabs' carry-on as we were. I'm not sure that Matty wasn't as surprised as anyone to get the award, but if you don't try you don't get, and in a perverse sort of way justice was surely done that afternoon.

For those who haven't a clue what we're talking about ....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BgBQlenWbBk

"It's still pretty much unclear just why the penalty has been given ...."

(You have to understand that by the time Latapy took the penalty every other game in Scotland had been finished for about 15 minutes - that was how shameless the Arab time-wasting and cheating had been. Mind you, Lauchlan's miracle recovery from terminal writhing disease was no more shameless tbh than big Matty's dying swan act to get the pen. )

[jakedance]

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Remember that game well. Decision definitely in our favour.
What I didn’t realise was who the ref was - Alan Freeland.
Was he not same ref that totally lost it in a game against Falkirk a couple of years later, where everything went against us?

If it’s the same Falkirk game I’m thinking of it was the worst refereeing performance I’ve ever seen and the only time I’ve ever been 100% convinced we’ve been deliberately cheated by a bias referee.

[--------]

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If it’s the same Falkirk game I’m thinking of it was the worst refereeing performance I’ve ever seen and the only time I’ve ever been 100% convinced we’ve been deliberately cheated by a bias referee.

Clive Thomas, January 1969, Fairs' Cup v. Dirty Leeds United at ER.

You're right about that Falkirk game. Freeland was unbelievably bad that day.

[jakedance]

A bit before my time auld yin.

[--------]

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A bit before my time auld yin.

I can think of a number of others involving Bobby Davidson and the Huns back in the day, and an obnoxious wee twerp called AJ Crawley who always refereed against us.

Just part of Scottish football culture.

Leeds United's Don Revie was something else, though - a genuine crook, corrupt to his marrow.

[jgl07]

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If you're referring to the match in which Dundee United constantly wasted time throughout the match only for the referee to rightly play about 10 minutes of added time, at the end of which our esteemed German defensive midfielder Matty Jack won an entirely justified penalty kick from which (IIRC) Russell Latapy scored to win us the game ...

The Arabs got exactly what they deserved. The time-wasting that went on that afternoon was scandalous - every throw-in, every free kick, every "injury" took ages to resolve and if the ref had actually played all the time they had wasted we'd still be playing that game now.

Alex Smith was their manager and he needed a good smacking.

(It doesn't matter where the ball is if there's illegal contact inside the penalty area, you know. And there was. Otherwise Matty wouldn't have fallen down. Matty was an honest man. He wasn't a diver. )

That wasn't all that riled the Arabs. They put the ball out of play for one of their spurious 'injuries', expecting that Hibs would give them the ball back from the throw in. Hibs didn't and went forward to win the (totally justified) penalty.

They got everything they deserved.

If anything, United benefited from the decision. It galvanised the support and the team with the sense of synthetic outrage and they got out of the relegation zone after looking doomed for the first half of the season.

[--------]

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That wasn't all that riled the Arabs. They put the ball out of play for one of their spurious 'injuries', expecting that Hibs would give them the ball back from the throw in. Hibs didn't and went forward to win the (totally justified) penalty.

They got everything they deserved.

If anything, United benefited from the decision. It galvanised the support and the team with the sense of synthetic outrage and they got out of the relegation zone after looking doomed for the first half of the season.

Aye, Matty went down like the proverbial dying swan, but there was illegal contact - the Arab player went into the back of him and clipped his heel. Laughlan was making out he was dying, but when we took the throw-in to ourselves he was up off the ground like a rocket. (And that was only the 15th or 20th time he'd tried that on in the match.)