Tony Docherty insists the handball rule needs to change after a controversial penalty call turned the tables on his Dundee side at home to Hearts.
The Dark Blues boss hailed the performance of his team as they led the Premiership’s third-place side until the referee pointed to the spot on 79 minutes.
Lawrence Shankland shot towards goal but saw his effort blocked at close range by Dens defender Lee Ashcroft.
Referee Graham Grainger, however, said it was handball to the fury of the Dark Blues.
Shankland stepped up to equalise before grabbing the winner on 87 minutes.
A frustrated Docherty said: “I’d love to come in after a game and talk about how good my team are but every week for the last five weeks we talk about decisions.
“I don’t know what handball is.
“What are you meant to do? Cut off a body part? When you are a yard away from a player and it hits you.
“It’s such a pivotal stage of the game. We’ve gone from 1-1 to score a wonderful, well-constructed goal to go 2-1 up and we were comfortable.
“Hearts are a really good side with a top striker. But I thought we were handling it well.
“That moment in the game changes everything.”
VAR?
VAR didn’t intervene after checking the decision but Docherty insists it should have sent the on-field referee to the screen to check it again himself.
“Why doesn’t he go and check it? I don’t understand,” the Dens boss added.
“He said ‘if I’d seen it again…’
“Well why didn’t you go and see it again. We’ve invested in a piece of apparatus that you can check 100% yet they don’t do that.
“Why? When it’s such an important part of the game and pivotal towards the end result.
“The rule does need looked at. I don’t understand the rule and I don’t think a lot of players do.”
Performance
Despite the penalty frustration, Docherty was pleased with the performance of his side even if it ended in defeat.
“I’d love to be standing here speaking about how good my team were, I thought they were outstanding today,” he added.
“You could see the appreciation from the supporters because of that.
“I thought our commitment, our structure but also our quality on the ball in attack we were brilliant.
“The two goals were brilliant. I thought we looked a threat all day.
“I’d rather be talking about that than a pivotal moment in the game that has led to it going the opposite way for us.”
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