Colleen Paterson
REFEREES chief Don McVicar today praised Csaba Laszlo for coming down hard on Hearts' sinner Marius Zaliukas – and says that more managers should play their part in cutting down on indiscipline in Scotland.
The Tynecastle boss publicly slammed Zaliukas this week after the Lithuanian defender was hit with a four-match ban following his red card against Falkirk in a fiery Scottish Cup tie on Saturday.

And Laszlo insisted that the player may face the ultimate punishment yet, claiming that Zaliukas could lose his place in the team if he doesn't improve his behaviour on the pitch. The on-loan Kaunas player was sent off at the weekend when he lashed out with his hands and aimed a kick at Bairns player Carl Finnigan after the two men had tussled for the ball.

It was Zaliukas' third ordering off of the campaign and, as a result, he will be suspended for the vital SPL matches against Aberdeen, St Mirren, Dundee United and Motherwell.

With three of those four teams expected to be among Hearts' main rivals for a place in Europe, Laszlo knows Zaliukas' lengthy ban could prove extremely costly, especially given that Christophe Berra, the Lithuanian's long-time defensive partner, is also unavailable to the manager as a result of his recent move to Wolves.

McVicar, the SFA's head of referee development, believes that Laszlo's public criticism of his own player sets an example to other managers and in turn makes referees' jobs much simpler. McVicar said: "We are all part of the game and we have to try to work together as much as possible. The more that we make an effort and talk to managers, then hopefully the more they will communicate with us. We need to know one another's roles and jobs and if we can do that then it can only be beneficial for both parties.

"We have spoken to Hearts already this season on a couple of issues and if it is necessary, then we will do so again to see what we can do to improve the situation. "But anything that the manager can do to improve discipline certainly helps and setting an example from the dugout or coming out in public to speak about certain situations to say that it won't be tolerated can only help to pass the message onto players that they must act in a certain manner."

McVicar is currently in Alcantara in Spain with 32 of Scotland's 35 top referees as part of a training and team-bonding exercise.

Hearts will no doubt have been a hot topic of conversation as one of the main tasks of the trip is to discuss the major talking points of the season so far.

The Tynecastle side have found themselves on the wrong side of the SFA's laws in this campaign, having been hit with a total of £40,000 worth of fines, and Zaliukas' indiscipline may lead to a further financial penalty. McVicar believes that referees in Scotland have been unfairly criticised over a number of incidents this season, including the decision not to overturn Zaliukas' red card away to Aberdeen at the end of last year.

He said: "We are working very hard out here. At this time of year it is very difficult to find suitable places to train outdoors, so coming to a place like this is ideal for us because it allows our referees to train outdoors, on grass, in the kind of environment that they work in on a Saturday afternoon.

"Because there is no longer a winter shutdown, it is difficult for us to find time in the calendar to organise anything but this was the one week where there was no midweek football. The facilities out here are fabulous, we are training in a big complex which belongs to the local Second Division team and we also have conference rooms. The whole idea is to review what has happened over the course of the season so far, all of the major incidents and the negatives and positives which have come out of it.

"There are a lot more positives than there are negatives. Of course, there are areas which we can improve on but we are only human and we are not perfect.

"Referees are under the microscope a lot though and I think that the media tends to focus on the negative aspects, however there is a lot of uninformed opinion out there, if you ask me. Hopefully our trip out here will prove to be hugely beneficial to us and to the football clubs in Scotland."

Players who were brought to book

JUST like Marius Zaliukas, former Rangers defender Michael Ball was publicly slated by his own manager after a tunnel bust-up back in November 2001.

Ball was furious when he was substituted in the 2-1 defeat to Celtic and swore and gestured towards Dick Advocaat as he made his way to the dressing-room.

In the press, afterwards the little Dutchman left his defender in no doubt as to his feelings on the outburst.

Former Tottenham star Mido, meanwhile, was banned from selection for the Egyptian national side for six months after a pitch-side row with Hassan Shehata when his manager replaced him during an African Cup of Nations match against Senegal three years ago.

Taken from the Scotsman