THE SFA were left to rue the fact they did not push harder to have controversial French referee Laurent Duhamel removed from last night's game after the official chalked off Gary Calderwood's seemingly legitimate goal.
In an all-too familiar "what if" scenario for Scotland fans, had the goal been allowed to stand, the remaining 14 minutes might have been considerably more nerve-racking for the Dutch.
Caldwell headed home from a corner in the 76th minute but
the strike was disallowed for no obvious reason.
Duhamel has a chequered history. He was demoted to officiating lower-league French games after a series of blunders during a PSG v St Etienne game, when he missed both a reckless tackle and a headbutt which saw the French federation dish out suspensions to PSG pair Stéphane Sessegnon and Claude Makelele. Duhamle also came under fire for his handling of a game between Rennes and Nice.
Marc Batta of the French refereeing association said of the demotion: "The best thing for him is to resume with one or two matches at a lower level. Referees are high-level sportsmen, they need confidence. Laurent has been marked by recent events."
Earlier this month, SFA chief executive Gordon Smith queried the appointment of Duhamel, saying: "The referee for a match of this importance has to be of a certain standard. Is this man suitable?"
Duhamel also hit the headlines this season when he failed to show a red card to Wayne Rooney for an apparent stamp during Manchester United's Champions League game with Aalborg, which left Kasper Risgard with stud marks on his chest.
The full article contains 279 words and appears in Scotland On Sunday newspaper.
