Craig Thompson is one of the Scottish FA's premier referees, as seen by his appointment to Besiktas vs Dynamo Kiev in the Champions League on Tuesday night, but there is no doubting that he is prone to the occasional shocker of a decision.
And 'shocker' is the only way to describe his decision to send off Besiktas defender Andreas Beck.
With the score at 1-0 to Kiev, Thompson decided to send off a defender and award a penalty for a "foul" that was caused by a barge from the attacker...
How?
He was in position to make a challenge, but was shouldered off balance causing the attacker to fall... If he even did that.. It appears to also be somewhat of a dive!
The reaction of the players speaks volumes, absolutely dumbfounded.
Kiev went on to run-riot, with the score finishing 6-0, which means that Besiktas are eliminated from the Champions League, finishing a point behind Benfica... That's not good for Craig Thompson.
Everybody knows that Turkish football fans are a logical and reasonable bunch, but they might not be best pleased by this decision. Craig Thompson is now trending in Turkey...
Beşiktaş #UEFA #FİFA SCANDAL SCANDAL SCANDAL FUCK YOU CRAİG THOMPSON
— Ferit (@Sureti_yalan) December 6, 2016
#TurcophobiaUEFA#craigthompson#besiktas ????‼️‼️‼️ https://t.co/poxnySAeKh
— osman erşahin (@OsmanErsahin7) December 6, 2016
#Matchfixing "Craig Thompson" #TurcophobiaUEFA @UEFAcom @UEFA @ChampionsLeague #ForzaBesiktas @BesiktasJK
— Uğur Kahya (@UgurKahya91) December 6, 2016
That will be last match of Craig Thompson @UEFAcom @FIFAcom
— Murat Bitlis (@Murat_Bitlis) December 6, 2016
@UEFAcom Craig Thompson is worst referee i have seen. That game is fucked by Craig Thompson.
— Whiteman (@boslukadami) December 6, 2016
@UEFA bastard referee craig thompson this a scandall, Fuck You!!!! This match and referee is fixed
— Devran (@devranfaruk) December 6, 2016
We've seen referees subjected to some awful abuse due to European performances before, and nobody wants to see that. Sadly, he can expect a few nasty messages after being seen to turn the game with one decision.
