Partick Thistle blast Comet procedures and demand SFA and SPFL answers

Thistle manager Kris Doolan was unhappy when he was told he could not put on Ricco Diack in the closing stages of the Group G game at Fir Park on Sunday – despite listing the striker among their replacements before kick-off.

Doolan, whose team lost to their Premiership rivals in a penalty shoot-out after the game had finished 0-0 at the end of 90 minutes and missed out on a place in the knockout rounds of the competition, was stunned when he learned the youngster’s name was not on a screenshot.

Thistle have asked the SFA, who have apologised to the Championship outfit in the wake of the error, and the SPFL what happened and expressed their unhappiness  and the protocols which have been put in place to implement Comet.

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A statement read: “We have written to the SPFL and Scottish FA inviting a full explanation of yesterday’s events, which we outline from our perspective as follows.

"A member of our team staff confirmed our team line up and substitutes at 13:38 through the Comet app mandated for team line submission by the Scottish FA and the SPFL.

“This submission included 20 players, with Ricco Diack listed as the final substitute because the app arranges players in numerical order by squad number.

“Upon confirmation of our team line up, match officials can instantly access our confirmed matchday squad through the Comet app. The opposition team, in this case Motherwell, can also access our confirmed matchday squad through the Comet app as soon as they confirm their line-up. Motherwell confirmed their line up at 13:14.

"Both teams had submitted their line ups in advance of the 13:45 deadline according to SPFL competition rules.

(Image: Craig Foy - SNS Group) “Concurrently, when both teams confirm their matchday squads, an automated email from the Scottish FA is sent to both clubs and match officials with a PDF copy of a team sheet, which spreads over two pages and lists the ninth substitute on the second page. In our case this is Ricco Diack, in Motherwell’s case this is number 29, Mark Ferrie.

“During the course of the game, Kris Doolan attempted to put substitute Ricco Diack onto the field of play. The fourth official informed the Partick Thistle technical area that Ricco was not a listed substitute, when in fact he was. Our manager was forced to change his substitute as the fourth official would not allow Ricco to enter the field of play.

“On the 84th minute, after when we had intended to substitute Ricco Diack into the game, Motherwell substituted Mark Ferrie, listed on the automated PDF at the exact same text line on the automated team sheet, into the match.”

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The statement continued: “Following the conclusion of the game, members of our team staff, including Kris Doolan and Paul McDonald approached the match officials calmly seeking clarification around the situation.

"The introduction of the Comet system has been a testing time for clubs across the country so we could sympathise with the match officials if they had been affected by a similar issue from the change in technology in the Scottish game.

“The fourth official confirmed he had used a screenshot from the automated PDF as a reference for team lines and also admitted that he had noted Motherwell’s ninth substitute in his notepad.

“We find it impossible to believe that a screenshot can contain Motherwell’s ninth substitute and not ours with both players listed on the exact same text line.

“It has become clear to us that the processes being followed by match officials for the submission of team lines through the new system are insufficient.

“We understand that a number of the match officials refereeing our fixtures so far this season will be using the system for the first time, but there needs to be a system of accountability to ensure fairness and transparency for all clubs.

“We have written to the SPFL and Scottish FA today to request an explanation for this situation which has placed us at a sporting disadvantage and materially impacted the game by not allowing us to field an attacking player onto the field of play, a player who already has a proven track record of delivering positive attacking play and goals during their time on the pitch.”