Former PL referee hints Tottenham man could be hit with FIFA charge

Tottenham defender Matt Doherty could be hit with a fine from FIFA after comments he made while on international duty with Republic of Ireland, according to former referee Keith Hackett.

The 29-year-old played in both of Ireland’s World Cup qualifiers against Portugal and Azerbaijan, but it was comments after the former that could land Doherty in deep waters.

Ireland, who had been leading against Portugal for 45 minutes, succumbed to defeat after conceding two late goals from Cristiano Ronaldo, who ended up breaking the men’s international goal record.

Spurs right-back Doherty was furious following what was a crushing result for Stephen Kenny’s side, and took matters into his own hands when claiming ‘something would have happened in the last minutes of the game for them to get an opportunity’.

Those comments towards match officials, according to former referee Hackett, could now land him in a hefty charge from governing body FIFA.

Hackett told Football Insider: “There’s no doubt that he is questioning the integrity of the referee.

“As the authorities, I would ask for the player’s observations to determine whether or not he’s going to be charged.

“At the same time, I think the authorities might just want to look. I would never question the integrity of the referee but you can question the competence.

“This is where the player has made the mistake. You get referees who have off games like players do. Don’t question his integrity, question his competence.

“He can say ‘I thought the referee had an indifferent game’. There are ways of getting that message across rather than questioning the integrity of the match official.”

Spurs Web Opinion 

For Ireland, it was incredibly disappointing the way they lost the game, given they had been leading for just over half the match. Unfortunately for Doherty, it looks like he may be receiving a fine for his comments, which he should have kept to himself, despite his frustration.

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