Ryan Edwards claims Kevin Clancy threatened to dish out a red card as the Dundee United captain urged the referee to keep track of any late time wasting in the Tangerines’ 2-1 defeat against Kilmarnock.
And Edwards has accused the whistler of stating “no-one’s worse than you lot at your place” in response to the complaints.
United crashed out of the Premier Sports Cup at the quarter-final stage on Tuesday evening, with Dan Armstrong’s second-half header sending Derek McInnes’ men to Hampden.
As well as being frustrated by the outcome — Edwards was adamant the visitors were “in complete control” after the interval — the centre-half was baffled by the demeanour of Clancy.
“I tried to speak to the referee, just to ask him to keep an eye on his watch, with what they were doing; killing the game and time wasting,” Edwards told Courier Sport.
“The response I got was, ‘no-one’s worse than you lot at your place’, which I thought was interesting — especially since we haven’t been in many winning positions over the last few weeks at home!
“I’ve no idea what he meant by that because he wouldn’t speak to me.
“He threatened to send me off because I was already on a yellow. I had to keep my mouth shut.
“It’s not ideal, especially with me being captain and just trying to talk to him. You just get brushed away.”
VAR incoming
Edwards was more circumspect regarding the contentious penalty award that allowed Killie to claim the lead, with Liam Smith adjudged to have blocked Kyle Lafferty’s drive with his arm.
However, the Liverpudlian stopper will welcome the introduction of VAR this week to clear up such challenging, pivotal decisions.
“As soon as the crowd were up, I thought the ref was going to give it — and with their players surrounding him,” added Edwards. “I think it’s harsh but, with the rules as they are, who knows?
“VAR is just around the corner and it’s for the best with these sorts of things.
“I think the referees need the help in situations like that. It might be a penalty but it’s pretty hard for Liam to get out the way. I know one thing for sure: his arms are in a natural position.”
United must now dust themselves off and refocus on their bid to climb away from the foot of the Premiership.
St Mirren in Paisley are next up.
“We are on a decent little run and we want to keep that going,” added Edwards. “We are definitely in a better place and confidence is breeding. That hasn’t changed.”
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