Keith Hackett criticises refereeing in Scotland's draw with Slovenia

Andy Robertson was affected by "sloppy" refereeing decisions during Scotland's draw with Slovenia on Saturday. This view was expressed by former Premier League and FIFA referee Keith Hackett, who was critical of Horatiu Fesnic's management of the match featuring the Tottenham left-back. Sebastien Pocognoli's first game in charge of Scotland ended in a goalless draw, despite the Tartan Army creating numerous chances to score in the second half.

Robertson, 32, received a booking for an off-the-ball incident in the first half, which seemed to stem from frustration over a foul he had conceded moments earlier. However, it was not this incident that drew Hackett's criticism. The contentious moment occurred when Robertson was fouled in the 82nd minute.

Late in the match, Robertson was on the receiving end of a poor challenge from Slovenia's Zan Karnicnik. The Spurs star was retrieving the ball out wide following a clearance from the Slovenia penalty area. After taking a touch to move the ball back towards the goal, he was brought down by a late lunge from Maribor right-back Karnicnik. Despite the clear foul, Romanian referee Fesnic allowed play to continue for several seconds before finally blowing his whistle and issuing a booking to Karnicnik.

After reviewing footage of the incident, and noting Fesnic's tendency to delay his whistle throughout the Nations League tie in Ljubljana, Hackett expressed his discontent. "There are fouls where the referee can look to apply an advantage to aid game flow," said the former referee. "However, possession is not always an advantage and his tolerance level is set too high. Several fouls have taken place that required an immediate award of a free kick. His application of law is sloppy. He is putting his control at risk and losing authority and respect."

Although Robertson could not help Scotland secure all three points in Slovenia on Saturday, the Spurs star is on the brink of a significant personal achievement. He earned his 98th Scotland cap in the Slovenian capital, positioning him to become only the second Scot in history to reach 100 caps during this international break. The ex-Liverpool player is set to earn his 99th cap at Hampden Park against Switzerland on Tuesday, and could then achieve his 100th against either North Macedonia next Saturday or back at Hampden against Slovenia the following Tuesday.

Sir Kenny Dalglish currently holds the record for Scotland's most caps with 102 appearances for the Tartan Army. While Robertson will not break that record during this international break, he could potentially do so in November against Switzerland, provided he plays in all five of Scotland's fixtures across this and the next international break if he aims to achieve the record by 2026.

Source: Tottenhamhotspurnews