OVER 150,000 people have signed a petition demanding an investigation into Haiti’s loss to Scotland in their country’s Fifa World Cup opener.
The petition on change.org launched from Paris is demanding “an in-depth review” of the refereeing decisions during the match – which Scotland won 1-0 after a deflected goal from John McGinn.
The organisers claim there were “several arbitrary” decisions that warrant an investigation into the referee, Algerian Mustapha Ghorbal.
The petition claims there were two penalty shouts that were ignored and that the refereeing decisions “marred the match" and "profoundly influenced the course of the game and the final result".
“Football is more than just a sport. It is a universal language, a symbol of equality, where every nation, regardless of its size or economic power, has the chance to prove its value on the ground,” the petition states in French.
“However, during the match in question, several arbitrary decisions raised questions. Decisions that, in our opinion, deeply influenced the course of the game and the end result. These events have not only frustrated Haitian players but also all those who believe in honest and respectful play.”
Scotland captain Andy Robertson, meanwhile, lauded every Scotland player who featured in their 1-0 victory on Saturday night for fulfilling their childhood dream of playing at a World Cup.
“It’s just a dream come true, honestly,” Robertson told ITV Sport. “We all just went out and achieved our dream and that is something that’s pretty special.
“Walking out and singing the national anthem with 25 of your mates, locked arms around the centre circle, and obviously all our families were there as well.
“It’s a dream come true and it’s a pretty special feeling to have that and then to go and follow it up with a win that makes it even more special. I’m just so happy for the lads who have worked so hard to get to this point.
“There’ll be so many kids back home now dreaming of being where we are. It takes so much hard work and that’s what these lads have done. They went and achieved their dream, and I just can’t be happier for all of them.”
The win over Haiti was only Scotland’s fifth at a World Cup, and their first in 36 years. Despite the underwhelming performance, Robertson feels his side merit credit for getting the job done on such an emotionally-charged day.
“The last time we won was 1990 – that just shows you it’s not easy to win at the World Cup,” said Robertson. “People can say we were favourites and things like that, but you’ve still got to do it.
“I thought we were really good up until the goal and then I think we scored and we thought ‘we’ve never been in this position before’, and I think that told a little bit.
“But I thought we defended so well, we limited their chances. Could we have played better with the ball? Absolutely, and we need to get better at that, the better the opposition we play.
“But if anyone got offered the result that we’ve just had and the three points to top the group after game one, everyone would have took it.
“We’ve made a big step, three points was crucial. We do know we need to step up in terms of certain things, but we will be better for it.
“It was such an emotional day, it was such a long day. Nine o’clock kick-off, it felt as if it was the longest day in history, just sitting in your room waiting for the bus to leave and things like that.
“We’ll have learned a lot from it, we’ll have learned a lot in terms of the referees and everything like that as well. But to learn and to get the win at the same time is amazing.
“We’ve now got five days (before facing Morocco) and we definitely need to recover, that’s for sure. And then Monday we’ll be down to work and trying to come up with a game plan to try to get the result we need.”
