FALKIRK FURIOUS OVER PENALTY DECISION
Falkirk defender Brian McLean has echoed the anger of manager Steven Pressley over the crucial penalty decision which paved the way for St Johnstone's vital 2-1 win on Saturday.
The Bairns boss launched a furious attack on referee Stevie O'Reilly and is likely to find himself in trouble from the Scottish Football Association.
Pressley claimed bottom side Falkirk are "an easy club to make decisions against" and demanded headlines from his tirade, rather than "getting a couple of paragraphs."
The former Scotland centre-half felt McLean showed "absolutely no intent" to handle Kenny Deuchar's header on the stroke of half-time.
But O'Reilly disagreed and Saints, having been second best and behind to Marc Twaddle's close-range 27th-minute finish, profited when Liam Craig tucked home the penalty for his ninth goal of the season.
McLean was not as vociferous as his manager but said: "I was annoyed at the penalty. It was a massive decision, especially on the stroke of half-time. It pulled them back into the game, one they weren't even featuring in.
"The referees have got to be working together as a team. We had two or three claims up at Dundee United recently and the referee never gave them that day.
"They had one claim on Saturday but my back was to goal, my hands were by my side, there is nothing I could have done.
"I wasn't watching where the ball was going, trying to intercept it with my hands at all.
"The referees have got to sing off the one hymn sheet and work together as a team, like what we have to do to pull ourselves out of this."
In contrast, Saints boss Derek McInnes felt it was a penalty and Deuchar agreed.
He added: "The defender leaves himself open to it because he has jumped with his arms out and tried to get something on it to block the ball.
"I've had a good header back into the six-yard box and it's come off his arm, so I can't really see how he can complain about that."
Towards the end of a lacklustre second half, worse followed for the Bairns when Deuchar netted the 84th-minute winner.
Tam Scobbie completely misjudged a long ball and Deuchar took advantage by lobbing Robert Olejnik.
The result leaves Falkirk four points adrift at the bottom of the Clydesdale Bank Premier League, having played a game less than 11th-placed St Mirren, while St Johnstone move up to seventh.
Deuchar added: "When the ball came forward I actually thought it was too long for him (Scobbie) to get anything on it. He just managed to get a wee clip on it and it went right into my path.
"Fortunately, the goalkeeper put himself in no-man's land and I made up my mind early to knock it over him."
McLean added: "Tam is a good player, he will come back from this. All we can do as a team is stick by him and pull in the one direction to get ourselves out of this."
Saints are six points behind sixth-placed Hearts, but boast three games in hand on the Edinburgh side, one coming at home to Aberdeen on Tuesday night.
Deuchar said: "It was a massive win for us, maybe we can start looking up the way rather than behind us."
(c)2010 365 Media Group Ltd
Rangers beat St Mirren, open 13 point gap over CelticGLASGOW -- Lee McCulloch scored a double as Rangers came from behind to seal a 3-1 win over St Mirren at Ibrox on Saturday that increases their lead in the Scottish Premier League to 13 points.
With rivals Celtic not playing Falkirk until Sunday, the hosts knew they could pile the pressure on with a win over a side they have already defeated twice in the past six weeks.
"It was always going to be a difficult game for us after the Old Firm game last week and then everyone disappears to international duty," Rangers manager Walter Smith said.
"We managed to hit the post twice and the bar and overall I am pleased with the win."
McCulloch picked up two goals either side of half-time after St Mirren's Graham Carey stunned Ibrox by opening the scoring on the 30-minute mark.
On-loan Celtic starlet Carey rifled a low shot past Rangers' Allan McGregor with the keeper left rooted to the spot.
But their lead lasted just two minutes by smashing home a free-kick on two minutes as McCulloch fired Rangers level.
The Buddies keeper then made saves from Davis and an acrobatic attempt from Danny Wilson as Rangers pushed for another before half-time
Within 45 seconds of the restart Rangers had the lead. Papac's cross from the left was headed to the edge of the box by Boyd where McCulloch lashed a shot into the ground which bounced over Gallacher for his second of the game.
Rangers hit the post three times in a game that was rich in attacking play and substitute Nacho Novo converted an easy tap-in on 78 minutes from a Steven Davis centre.
Davis had come close to scoring himself in the first-half when his swerving free-kick crashed off the bar with Gallacher beaten and Sasa Papac's left-foot shot from the rebound hit the woodwork.
Rangers' victory lays the groundwork for the league cup final where they will meet St Mirren again in two weeks time.
Elsewhere in the Scottish Premier League, Hibernian moved to third spot with a 1-0 win over Kilmarnock, Hamilton and Aberdeen drew 1-1 and Motherwell won 2-1 away to St Johnstone.
Copyright (c) 2010 AFP
Referees favour Rangers over Celtic - claim
The issue surfaced again ahead of Sunday's Old Firm game at Ibrox when unconfirmed reports emerged saying that Celtic were considering contacting the Scottish Football Association to express
their concern and frustration over refereeing decisions that have gone against them this season, notably in two games against Rangers.
The match itself added fuel to the fire when Celtic skipper Scott Brown was sent off in the 1-0 defeat following a tussle with Rangers midfielder Kyle Lafferty, who escaped unpunished.
McNeill, who skippered Celtic to their European Cup win in 1967 and who later had two spells as manager, told the Scottish Sun: "Celtic have been suffering referee injustices against Rangers for 50 years.
"The big decisions have always gone against my club and in favour of Rangers. "Nothing has changed.
"I felt that way as a player, during two spells as manager and now as a spectator.
"This season I've seen it in each of three derbies - and what happened at Ibrox on Sunday was as disappointing as any I've had to stomach.
"I believe that when it comes to players being red-carded and booked, Rangers have been more favourably treated than Celtic.
"Yes, we have been unfairly treated."
McNeill gave no indication of why he felt that referees were favouring Rangers.
(c)2009 AVUSA, Inc
SPL loses second Champions League place to Belgium
Scotland will lose one of their two Champions League places from the season after next, the Scottish Premier League confirmed on Friday.
Thursday's Europa League results for Belgian clubs saw them overtake Scotland into 15th spot in UEFA's co-efficient ranking table.
A fall to 16th also means the 2010-11 SPL champions will not qualify automatically for the following season's Champions League group stage.
They will instead have to navigate three qualifying rounds, though all matches will be against champions from smaller European nations rather than runners-up or third- and fourth-placed sides from larger countries.
But the loss of a Champions League spot is potentially a huge blow to the Old Firm, who published their half-yearly accounts this week in which the difference between reaching the group stage and failing to do so was laid bare.
Next season will see both the SPL winners and runners-up in the Champions League, with the runners-up facing two qualifying rounds, the second of which could be against one of the giants of the European game.
An SPL spokesman said: "Our clubs are sorted for next season. It's for the season after that that Belgium are now above us."
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Celtic's profit drops following failure to qualify for Champions LeagueCeltic's profits have dropped dramatically and its debts have increased following the team's failure to qualify for this season's Champions League.
The Scottish Premier League club says its pretax profit for the six months ending Dec. 31 was down 85 per cent to US$1.99 million and its bank debt increased more than threefold to US$4.9 million.
Celtic finished runner-up to fierce city rival Rangers last season and was beaten in Champions League qualifying in August by Arsenal.
Club chairman John Reid says "football and commercial success went hand in hand."
Celtic trails Rangers by 10 points with about a third of this season remaining.
Copyright (c) 2010 The Canadian Press
Mowbray denies Celtic panic
Manager Tony Mowbray insists there is no 'sign of panic' in the Celtic camp.
The Hoops are out of the UEFA Champions League, the Europa League and the Co-operative Insurance Cup, while they trail Rangers by 10 points in the Scottish Premier League.
And they visit Dunfermline on Sunday in the fifth round of the Active Nation Scottish Cup, a competition which represents Celtic's most realistic chance of winning a trophy this season.
The Bhoys have lost two of their last three games and Mowbray accepts some fans will not be happy with the club's progress since he took charge last summer.
But the former West Brom and Hibs boss pointed out that he is focused on safeguarding the long-term prosperity of the club rather than concentrating of achieving short-term success.
Mowbray is hoping he is given time to prove his detractors wrong and insisted the only signs of panic are amongst the press.
"You're reading your own media, if that makes sense," he said.
Philosophy
"My philosophy doesn't change. I bring a philosophy of what will bring long-term success and continue down that road.
"When it's done, the evidence is there; it'll be on your face.
"I don't see the panic, I don't hear the panic - it doesn't interest me. I get on with my job - building a team that will give us long-term success.
"I've got every respect for our fans," Mowbray added. "They're up there with the best in the world. And yet the manager of the football team can't listen to every fan because we've got millions of them all over the world.
"There'll be some fans who are not very happy, some fans who want change. But there are a lot of fans who I bump into on the street who say, 'keep the faith - it will come'.
Huge disappointment
"We get disappointed - hugely disappointed - when we don't win football matches. But there has to be a bigger picture of where we're taking this club and where we're going to be and the foundations that we put in place."
Asked if Sunday's game had taken on an extra significance following Tuesday night's league defeat at Kilmarnock, Mowbray replied: "No, I don't think so.
"It's a game we have to go and win, as we try to win every game.
"The league game coming on Wednesday night; we've got to go and try to win that. Hopefully, another cup game will come; we've got to try to win that."
(c) 2010 BSkyB
Celtic signs Diomansy Kamara on loan from Fulham
GLASGOW, Scotland (AP) -- Celtic has signed Diomansy Kamara on loan from Fulham until the end of the season.
Celtic moved to boost its attack after falling 10 points behind fierce rival Rangers in the Scottish Premier League.
The Senegal international has already played for Celtic manager Tony Mowbray, at English club West Bromwich Albion during the 2006-07 season.
Kamara says he is "very much looking forward to joining up with the manager."
Celtic has also signed 18-year-old forward Paul Slane from Motherwell on a four-year contract.
German newspaper Sport Bild reported Monday that Bayern Munich defender Edson Braafheid was also joining Celtic for the rest of the season.
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