THE SPL IS FULL OF CHEATS

HEARTS keeper Craig Gordon has claimed the SPL is riddled with cheats and conmen.

The Scotland No.1 hit out after Falkirk defender Darren Barr was cleared of head-butting Jambos frontman Andrius Velicka.

Referee Steve Conroy yesterday admitted he got the decision wrong and criticised Velicka for a theatrical fall to the ground in the controversial moment during Hearts' 1-0 win.

Barr, 21, had his red card reduced to a yellow and will now serve a three-match ban from February 3 as the caution takes him over the disciplinary points threshold.

Hearts skipper Gordon declared team-mate Velicka innocent but then he insisted other players in the SPL cannot say the same as cheating and diving are now so commonplace in the top flight.

He also denied the problem is restricted to foreign players and insists Scots are just as bad when it comes to conning refs.

Gordon said: "You can look every single week in the SPL and see players from every country, even Scotland, going down very easily to win free-kicks and other advantages for their teams.

"I'm not saying it's right but there are players who go through on a goalie, nick the ball round him and go down very easily for a penalty and no one says anything about it.

"It's not as if they have been tackled hard, it's any contact whatsoever and it doesn't seem to matter anymore if it was even enough to put them down.

"There are people willing to do whatever it takes to win a game. You get paid a lot of money to win games, cups and championships and if you put that choice in front of a lot of players they are going to take that option.

"It happens all over world football and it definitely happens in the SPL every single week and I don't think you can eradicate it."

Conroy accused Velicka of conning him into sending off Barr but the Hearts player will escape punishment because SFA rules do not allow retrospective action to be taken.

Speaking about Velicka's fall, Conroy said: "While these actions did not have a direct bearing on my decision they were clearly intended to do so.

"Everyone in the game has a responsibility to ensure fair play is encouraged and the referee's task is not made any more difficult than it is."

Conroy confessed from his angle it looked as if Barr, angry at a high tackle from Velicka, jumped up and butted his opponent.

But after reviewing video evidence he conceded he got it wrong and the SFA immediately cleared Barr to face Kilmarnock today.

Conroy added: "From my angle I was confident that Barr had acted in a violent manner by thrusting his head at his opponent.

"There was sufficient intent, I thought, in his actions to warrant a red card.

"I have since viewed the incident on video and I accept that the decision to send the player off was wrong.

"Not only was there no contact, there was no attempt at contact but the aggressive actions of the Falkirk player were worthy of a caution."

Falkirk boss John Hughes applauded the SFA for seeing justice done on behalf of his player. He said: "I'm absolutely delighted commonsense has prevailed and I also understand why the decision has been changed from red to yellow.

"I'm pleased Darren can play on with an honesty still attached to his name."

A Falkirk statement said: "Falkirk and Darren Barr would like to thank the many people who over the past few days have voiced their support, and in particular thank referee Steve Conroy for his honesty and courage in admitting that a mistake had been made."

Taken from the Daily Record