Steve Clarke was in no mood to beat around the bush when he addressed the media in Stuttgart on Sunday night, after Kevin Csoboth’s 100th-minute strike confirmed the Tartan Army’s time in Germany would be coming to an end.
Scotland looked to be settling for a point that would have kept them in with a chance – albeit slim – of finishing as one of the best third-placed sides at EURO2024, but the substitute’s late strike completed a blistering counterattack.
Clarke felt that his Scotland side “gave everything” throughout the match, and felt that they should have “100%” been awarded a penalty in the second half when Stuart Armstrong was felled inside the box by Willi Orban.
The Argentine referee waved away the forward’s appeals, with VAR failing to recommend an on-field review. Clarke commented: “100% penalty – somebody, somewhere has to be explain to me why that’s not a penalty. I’ve got other words, but I’m not going to use them.”
“[It is a] European competition, maybe it’d have been better to have a European referee?”
Asked to sum up his emotions, the 60-year-old was straight to the point: “The same as everyone else who’s Scottish, I’d imagine. Disappointed and sad, that’s it.”
“I thought it was a very even match between two teams, so I don’t agree [that Hungary were better].”