Gordon Strachan was full of praise for yesterday's referee, the Italian Nicola Rizzoli, who it should be remembered was the referee for last year's World Cup Final.
Managers are usually at best neutral about referees. The best a ref can hope for is to be utterly ignored by both managers.
However, Strachan didn't stint on the praise.
I thought the ref was terrific the whole game. He knew when people were looking for fouls, he spotted that and there’s not many referees I’ve seen brave enough to do that.
Okay there might be one or two dubious decisions but that’s going to happen.
Martin O'Neill was not surprised that Strachan was taken with the referee - because that the Italian chose to divest himself of authority for much of the game, offering the final say on many of the calls to Wee Stevie Naismith.
I’m not surprised Gordon thought that. Naismith refereed the game for most of it. He was talking away to the referee for most of the time, congratulating him on some of his decisions.
Ireland's physicality irked the referee who nonetheless chose to overlook some tough Scottish challenges late on in the game notably when Shane Long was bundled over following a glorious first touch ten minutes from time.
O'Neill and the referee exchanged some frank words during the second half.
Read more: Scottish Journalists Gleefully Dredge Up Unfortunate Martin O'Neill Quote From 11 Years Ago
