Exclusive: Keith Hackett in disbelief at MacDermid over Dundee derby controversy
Dundee United were on the wrong end of an "avoidable controversy" during their Scottish Cup derby defeat, Keith Hackett has said.
The former PGMOL chief and ex-FIFA official exclusively told Football Insider referee Matthew MacDermid blew his whistle too quickly to prevent Vicko Sevelj equalising at Dens Park on Monday night (20 January).
It was the hosts who ran out 1-0 winners to secure their place in the fifth round of the Scottish Cup in that match, thanks to Simon Murray's early goal.
Hackett though feels Dundee United may have been wrongly denied an equaliser due to the timing of MacDermid's whistle.
Dundee derby referee blasted over disallowed goal
With just over half an hour on the clock, Jim Goodwin's side thought they had drawn level, when Sevelj fired in from the edge of the area after a throw in to the box was only cleared as far as him.
However, in the brief second between the ball leaving his boot and hitting the back of the Dundee net, MacDermid blew his whistle for a foul inside the area.
That meant the goal was disallowed with VAR unable to intervene to overturn what many felt was a soft free-kick awarded to the hosts.
Now Hackett has suggested that MacDermid acted too quickly in awarding a foul, rather than allowing the passage of play to be comlpeted.
When asked by Football Insider if the referee should have waited to see what happened before blowing his whistle, the former referee said:
"I cannot believe that referees continue to get themselves into this situation. He should have delayed his whistle and allowed the play to come to a conclusion. This type of controversy is avoidable."
After being knocked out here, the Terras now find themselves focusing qualifying for Europe for next season, as they currently sit third in the top-flight standings.
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