Scotland's World Cup Defeat: Penalty Claims and Referee Decisions Under Scrutiny

Scotland claimed for two penalties in their 1-0 World Cup defeat by Morocco.

Former referee Christina Unkel said they should have been awarded one of them. Pundits Roy Keane and Ange Postecoglou disagreed with their ITV Sport colleague.

Scotland head coach Steve Clarke was diplomatic, saying he "wasn't too sure" about several decisions made by Uzbek referee Ilgiz Tantashev.

But were Scotland hard done by in Boston on a night of fine margins?

After Ismael Saibari had smashed Morocco into the lead after 70 seconds, it seemed it would be a long night for the Scots, who beat Haiti 1-0 in their opening match.

However, they slowly grew into the contest and felt aggrieved not to get two second-half penalties after John McGinn and Scott McTominay went to ground.

Referee Tantashev let plenty go through the game and there was obvious frustration from Scottish players and coaches alike at his performance.

"I think it is a penalty kick," Unkel said on ITV about the McTominay incident.

"The referee is known for tolerating a higher level of physical contact but you don't need a lot to give a penalty.

"It's a simple foul, there's contact at the knee position and there's another angle that suggests there might be a step on the left boot."

However, Clarke felt the earlier challenge on McGinn was the more egregious decision and he also felt Moroccan defender Issa Diop was fortunate to escape with just a yellow card in the first half when he felled Che Adams.

"There were one or two decisions that I'm not too sure about," Clarke said.

"I thought the John McGinn one was more a penalty [than the Scott McTominay one]. On another day somebody could give that.

"It's the same with the yellow card for the defender when Che Adams is going clean through on goals. On another day that could be a red."