Kenny Shiels: Referee appointment was a boo-boo

Northern Ireland manager Kenny Shiels described UEFA's decision to appoint a Nordic referee for his side's Euro 2022 clash with Norway as a "boo-boo" following a 4-1 thrashing in Southampton.

During a bizarre post-match press conference, Shiels appeared to take issue with Finnish official Lina Lehtovaara awarding the Norwegians a first-half penalty after being alerted to Nadene Caldwell's handball by VAR.

The 66-year-old accepted the decision to give the spot-kick, converted by Caroline Graham Hansen to make it 3-0, "probably" was correct but still questioned Lehtovaara's suitability for the Group A fixture.

Asked to clarify his peculiar complaint, he later dismissed the concerns as a "passing comment", telling reporters "don't worry about it".

"We made mistakes, we were 2-0 down and then they get a penalty where the ball hits the player in the upper arm and the Nordic referee, who was refereeing a game involving a Nordic team, gave the penalty," said Shiels.

"But I don't for one minute say it was because she was the referee. I'm just saying those statistics were there and it made it really hard for her to referee and UEFA are very precise and they tell you what to do and they are so exact that I think that was a boo-boo.

"But most referees under the new ruling would probably have given it anyway but I'm just saying that it was tough for us."

Asked directly whether Lehtovaara was an unsuitable selection, he replied: "I'm not blaming that for our defeat by any stretch but I'm just saying I don't think we should talk too much about that because it's a side event.

"I'm just talking to you as people; people with the same types of feelings that we all have.

"It's not a big thing, it's just a passing comment, so don't worry about it."

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