Fans appalled by ‘disgraceful’ incident moments before Scott McTominay penalty
Scotland fans were left seething at the treatment dished out to Scott McTominay in Thursday’s win 1-0 against Greece. The Napoli midfielder’s first-half penalty was enough to hand Steve Clarke’s side the advantage going into Sunday’s second leg at Hampden Park. Scott McTominay slotted home Scotland’s winner against GreeceUEFA A win for Scotland over the two legs would confirm their status in League A for the next edition of the Nations League. Scotland dominated the first half and got their just rewards when McTominay appeared to be tripped by Lazaros Rota, handing the former Manchester United man the opportunity to fire his side ahead from the spot. But the task was made all the more difficult thanks to gamesmanship from a handful of Greece stars with sections of the crowd also playing their part. Prior to the penalty, McTominay was surrounded by four Greece players all aiming to disrupt his focus. Referee Tobias Stieler did his best to usher the players away but McTominay was quickly met with another dilemma. Multiple lasers from the crowd were shone into his eyes as he was shaping up to take the spot kick in a last-ditch attempt to unsettle the 28-year-old. However, his laser-sharp focus proved good enough to overcome the hurdles in his way and coolly converted from the spot. The incident did not escape the attention of Scotland fans who flocked to social media to voice their disapproval at McTominay’s treatment. One fan wrote: “How many lasers were in McTominay’s face there as he took that penalty?” A second fan added: “Hope @UEFA are looking at the lasers shone at McTominay there.” bbc sportReferee Tobias Stieler was forced to usher away Greece’s players so that McTominay could take the spot kick[/caption] bbc sportThe midfielder was then the subject of multiple lasers from the crowd[/caption] But he kept his cool to tuck away the penalty kickRex Another fumed: “Laser pens being shone at McTominay when taking the pen. Really poor show.” A fourth fan wrote: “The laser pointers coming from the crowd is embarrassing.” A final fan added: “Was just me or did anyone else see the green laser lights on McTominay’s body and face before he took the penalty? Disgraceful if it was the case, UEFA need to intervene.” Discussing the incident, former Scotland striker turned pundit Steven Naismith told the BBC: “The laser pens are brought out frequently there too (Italy) so Scotty was probably used to it.” Greece fought back in the second half and were unlucky not to find a leveller on the night meaning they have a tough task in overturning the deficit in front of a raucous Hampden crowd on Sunday. “I was impressed by the Greeks and their away record is good,” Clarke told reporters after his side’s first-leg win. “They went to Ireland and won comfortably. They went to Finland and won comfortably. They went to Wembley and won. So the game is still wide open.” Steve Clarke insists there is still work to do ahead of Sunday’s second legGetty “I thought in the first half we were excellent – we played the ball around really well and created some chances,” Clarke said. “We could maybe have been a little bit further in front at half time “In the second half, to be fair to the Greeks, they got about us and stopped us playing. We started going a little bit too long. “And then you’re asked to defend – and we defended quite well. We defended our box well. It felt like a lot of pressure because of the number of free kicks and corners coming into our six-yard box. “But Craig (Gordon) didn’t have too many saves to make. I think they only had one effort on target in the second half. So I’ve got to give credit to my team for the way they defended in the second half. But there was also a lot to like in the first half.” Asked his take on the laser controversy, Clarke joked: “I didn’t see it. I had a laser being shone in my eyes too!”
Scotland fans were left seething at the treatment dished out to Scott McTominay in Thursday’s win 1-0 against Greece.
The Napoli midfielder’s first-half penalty was enough to hand Steve Clarke’s side the advantage going into Sunday’s second leg at Hampden Park.
A win for Scotland over the two legs would confirm their status in League A for the next edition of the Nations League.
Scotland dominated the first half and got their just rewards when McTominay appeared to be tripped by Lazaros Rota, handing the former Manchester United man the opportunity to fire his side ahead from the spot.
But the task was made all the more difficult thanks to gamesmanship from a handful of Greece stars with sections of the crowd also playing their part.
Prior to the penalty, McTominay was surrounded by four Greece players all aiming to disrupt his focus.
Referee Tobias Stieler did his best to usher the players away but McTominay was quickly met with another dilemma.
Multiple lasers from the crowd were shone into his eyes as he was shaping up to take the spot kick in a last-ditch attempt to unsettle the 28-year-old.
However, his laser-sharp focus proved good enough to overcome the hurdles in his way and coolly converted from the spot.
The incident did not escape the attention of Scotland fans who flocked to social media to voice their disapproval at McTominay’s treatment.
One fan wrote: “How many lasers were in McTominay’s face there as he took that penalty?”
A second fan added: “Hope @UEFA are looking at the lasers shone at McTominay there.”
Another fumed: “Laser pens being shone at McTominay when taking the pen. Really poor show.”
A fourth fan wrote: “The laser pointers coming from the crowd is embarrassing.”
A final fan added: “Was just me or did anyone else see the green laser lights on McTominay’s body and face before he took the penalty? Disgraceful if it was the case, UEFA need to intervene.”
Discussing the incident, former Scotland striker turned pundit Steven Naismith told the BBC: “The laser pens are brought out frequently there too (Italy) so Scotty was probably used to it.”
Greece fought back in the second half and were unlucky not to find a leveller on the night meaning they have a tough task in overturning the deficit in front of a raucous Hampden crowd on Sunday.
“I was impressed by the Greeks and their away record is good,” Clarke told reporters after his side’s first-leg win. “They went to Ireland and won comfortably. They went to Finland and won comfortably. They went to Wembley and won. So the game is still wide open.”
“I thought in the first half we were excellent – we played the ball around really well and created some chances,” Clarke said. “We could maybe have been a little bit further in front at half time
“In the second half, to be fair to the Greeks, they got about us and stopped us playing. We started going a little bit too long.
“And then you’re asked to defend – and we defended quite well. We defended our box well. It felt like a lot of pressure because of the number of free kicks and corners coming into our six-yard box.
“But Craig (Gordon) didn’t have too many saves to make. I think they only had one effort on target in the second half. So I’ve got to give credit to my team for the way they defended in the second half. But there was also a lot to like in the first half.”
Asked his take on the laser controversy, Clarke joked: “I didn’t see it. I had a laser being shone in my eyes too!”
