Airdrie boss Rhys McCabe claimed even the assistant referee thought his side should have had a penalty in their defeat to Dunfermline – after referee Colin Steven denied the Diamonds a second half spot-kick.
McCabe’s men lost for the sixth game on the bounce in the Championship and failed to score for the fifth game in succession, leaving them seven points adreift of the Pars at the bottom of the table.
With just one win in their last 16 games, McCabe feels big decisions haven’t been going their way and he was fuming that a claim for a foul on Cammy Cooper in the box was turned down by referee Steven.
As it was, Lewis McCann’s 61st minute strike – which was also controversial as Airdrie felt Rhys Armstrong had been fouled in the build-up – was enough to see the Pars take all three points.
And McCabe said: “The big decisions went against us, it’s a penalty. I think it’s Chris Hamilton that comes through the back of him [Cooper].
“The frustration lies because the linesman on our touchline is speaking to us, telling us that it’s a stonewall penalty and he’s in agreement with us.
“So all we ask and certainly what I asked at the side was, why not go and consult each other, come to the right verdict, which looking back, it’s a penalty. I think anywhere else on the pitch, he gives a foul, a clear shove or clear tackle from behind.
“I think if you ask [Dunfermline manager] James McPake and any managers and clubs in the league, the officiating is very poor.
“Not getting the wee moments of luck and the rub of the green is something that you’ve got to go through, but I think with the way we controlled the game, you could hear the crowd getting on Dunfermline’s backs.
“We were the team who started to control the ball and create opportunities. We could do a little better, of course, in the final third but having a strong penalty would have changed the dynamics of the game.
“I though the first half was very scrappy. I think you could tell where both teams are at. In the second half, I think we controlled the game, we were the much better side and the team looking to score.”
Diamonds midfielder Gavin Gallagher also felt his side were hard done by.
He added: “I think it is a stonewall penalty.
“I am right in front of their goal as well and Rico is getting pulled on the arm of three or four occasions but we just need to deal with it and move on.
“We know as a team that we need to better and when we are in this position, there is no luck falling for us.
“But we need to earn our luck by working hard and I thought the boys did that.
“I thought the first half was very cagey, both teams were not really getting the ball down and playing.
“But we go in at half-time at 0-0 and the message from the gaffer was to keep a clean sheet and build on it from there.
“I thought in the second half, we came out and controlled the game more often.”
It doesn’t get any easier for the Diamonds as they host in-form Livingston next Saturday.