Furious Stephen Baxter: If people are not up to it, get out of the game
Crusaders 0 Larne 2
Crusaders manager Stephen Baxter
Irate Stephen Baxter has taken a swipe at referee Steven Gregg and has urged ‘if people are not up to it, then get out of the game’.
Baxter couldn’t hold back after watching his team lose to title chasing Larne at Seaview on Friday night, insisting his team were deprived of ‘two stonewall’ spot kicks.
Goals from midfield duo Joe Thomson and the impressive Leroy Millar kept the reigning Sport Direct Premiership champions hot on the tails of David Healy’s table-topping Linfield.
Thompson scored seconds before the interval with a stinging 25-yard free kick, while Millar finished off the best move of the match, involving Andy Ryan and Levi Ives to seal the deal near the finish.
But Ballyclare official Gregg was in the glare of Baxter for not penalising Larne defender Cain Bolger, who appeared to trip Adam Lecky inside the box, before waving play on when Ross Clarke buckled under a challenge from Levi Ives – both incidents coming within four first half minutes of each other.
It left Baxter fuming. He stated: “The officials were brutal. The level of refereeing we watched was akin to amateur league refereeing of the highest order.
“To miss the two penalty kick decisions is beyond me, totally beyond me. We prepared for this game all week; the boys ran the shirts off their back.
“But we can do nothing about the decision making; (the referee) missing blatant penalty kicks; missing off the ball stuff; missing elbows going in.
“He then gives a stupid decision, the softest foul you’ll ever see which led to the first goal – the performance was beyond me. If they can’t do the job, then just step away. Honestly, it’s now so bad.”
Baxter contends the penalty incidents were easy
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