Former Celtic hero Chris Sutton has emerged as the lone dissenter in Scotland’s penalty fury after being sent crashing out of Euro 2024 by Hungary.
Steve Clarke and his players claimed for a late penalty in the do or die Group A clash when substitute Stuart Armstrong was bundled over in the box by defender Will Orban. Despite the claims from the Tartan Army in Stuttgart, referee Facundo Tello waved away the shouts – with the VAR team also opting against sending the man in the middle to the monitor to review the flashpoint.
Scotland’s hopes of making history by reaching the last 16 were ended by a last-gasp Kevin Csoboth sucker punch – leaving Clarke’s side rock bottom of Group A. After the late heartbreak, the likes of former England heroes Alan Shearer and Ian Wright declared the the Argentinian whistler got the big call wrong.
However, there was no such sympathy from Sutton – as he put the blame on the Scotland midfielder for not opting to take on the shot and test goalkeeper Peter Gulacsi. Speaking to BBC 606 about the flashpoint, he said: “There will be Scotland fans out there saying ‘we should have been awarded a penalty’ – but it wasn’t awarded. I know, I have looked at social media and there are some big hitters out there saying it should have been a penalty – I didn’t think it was a penalty.
“I think Stuart Armstrong – I don’t know why he doesn’t try and get a shot off, I think all he is thinking about is trying to win a foul off Olban, the Hungarian defender. It wasn’t a penalty for me, but I know there is a lot of anger from Scotland fans that they were wronged.”
Put to Sutton that Shearer and Wright had been among the critics of the key decision, Sutton remained unmoved. He continued: “Maybe the guys are just a bit tired. I think they got that one wrong. Stuart Armstrong, he has had fitness issues this season, why does he not try to score? He is thinking about Willy Olban, the Hungarian defender and the contact – put your foot through it!”