Craig Levein has called for Czech Republic winger Jan Rezek to be suspended for
the penalty box fall that denied his Scotland side a Euro 2012 qualifying
victory.
Rezek went down under a challenge from Danny Wilson to earn the visitors a
last-minute penalty in Saturday's Hampden clash, which Michal Kadlec converted
to secure a 2-2 draw.
Replays showed Wilson had nicked the ball and did not appear to have touched
his opponent. The Liverpool defender later claimed Rezek had admitted there had been no
contact, although the Czech player himself insisted there had been a touch.
The point leaves the Czechs in pole position to seal a play-off spot behind
Spain and Levein's anger was exacerbated when Dutch referee Kevin Blom later
booked Christophe Berra for simulation when his ankle was clipped by Roman
Hubnik in the other penalty area.
Scotland manager Levein believes UEFA should look into the situation, just as
they did following another controversial Hampden penalty award four years ago.
Lithuania and then Hearts midfielder Saulius Mikolunias was handed a two-match
suspension for diving to win his side a penalty during a 3-1 victory for the
Scots in the previous European Championship qualifying campaign.
Levein, whose side face Mikoliunas and Lithuania on Tuesday, said: "Let's look
at it and say nothing is going to happen that will help us get any of the points
back.
"But there are situations I feel that we shouldn't let pass. We have a player from the Czech Republic who has dived and admitted it. His
director of football has come on the television and said it wasn't a penalty.
"I remember a similar incident four or five years ago when Mikoliunas received
a two-game ban. Well, a precedent has been set and I don't believe the Czech Republic deserve
to have Rezek available for the next two games.
"I think it's worth making sure that people are aware of what's happened. There is a respect campaign and fair play is quite high up on FIFA's
thoughts. There is enough evidence to suggest that there was a breach of those
rules.''
On Monday, UEFA officials were examining the match reports from the weekend's games.
A spokeswoman confirmed the organisation's control and disciplinary body had the
power to take action if they see fit.
"It depends on what they see in the match report and if it has been
included,'' she said. "But sometimes it doesn't have to be included for action to be taken.''
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