Hibernian striker Leigh Griffiths has hit out at referee Craig Thomson after his side's 5-1 Scottish Cup final defeat by Hearts.
Striker adamant penalty and red card swung the game
Hibernian striker Leigh Griffiths has hit out at referee Craig Thomson after his side's 5-1 Scottish Cup final defeat by Hearts.
Griffiths felt the key moment was the penalty and sending off of Pa Kujabi, who pulled back Suso Santana outside the box, allowing Danny Grainger to put Hearts 3-1 ahead just after the break.
"We go in at half-time and say the next goal is crucial and then we come out and after a minute-and-a-half the referee gives a stupid penalty," Griffiths said.
"So that kind of spoils the game and we are down to 10 men.
"It's backs against the wall and then we lose a goal three minutes later which effectively kills the game off."
Consistency
Kujabi was shown red for the challenge after an earlier reckless lunge on Santana but Griffiths felt referee Thomson failed to show consistency.
Griffiths argues after Hearts midfielder Ian Black got away without a booking for leading with his arm on him in a late aerial challenge.
"People are saying he should have sent Ian Black off for the challenge on me early on, I thought he should at least have got a booking.
"Five minutes later Pa Kujabi puts in a fair challenge and he gets booked.
"It's a big match and you need big officials and unfortunately Craig Thomson didn't turn up today."
He added: "I don't want to talk about the ref, it's just a bitter blow. To lose a cup final is bad but to lose against Hearts, especially 5-1, is a hammer blow to take."
