Pundit and former Aberdeen forward Noel Whelan feels that Jeremie Frimpong should “count to ten” next time things don’t go his way after comments he made this week following his side’s 2-1 Scottish Cup victory over Partick Thistle.
Speaking to Football Insider, Whelan reflects on what good can come from criticising the referee, especially after a game that your side has won.
So what has Whelan said?
Whelan was asked if he feels that Frimpong has shown his age with his recent comments and if he has made a rod for his own back, to which he said:
“Yeah I don’t think referees have an agenda, they make mistakes but we’re all human at the end of the day”.
“It certainly won’t be the last time at any levels that you’ll see mistakes from referees and linesmen”.
“You just can’t say that sometimes you have to look a bit closer to home and at yourself and wonder why it hasn’t gone your way?”.
“Frimpong, yeah you’re never going to win, when you complain, criticise the referee or linesman, it’s only going to blowback on you”.
“Probably frustration, a little bit of immaturity and maybe next time he’ll learn to count to ten as it won’t change anything”.
So is Whelan correct?
Frimpong is only 19-years-old and displays a level of immaturity, occasionally, in his defending, for all that he has probably meant the remarks lightheartedly, how it is reported and blown up by the media may influence how officials deal with him in the future.
His manager, Neil Lennon, will no doubt have a word with him and tell him to leave comments about officiating to him rather than sticking his head up above the parapet, regardless of whether or not he feels hard done by.
The Netherlands under-21 international will feel frustrated at giving another penalty away, despite the positive start to his Hoops career he needs to concentrate on not “giving the referee a decision to make”, to coin a well worn cliché.
Did Jeremie Frimpong show immaturity with his post match comments?
Yes
No
Frimpong is a bubbly character and has maybe just been naive in his comments, a bit more training from the Celtic media team should see him avoid further trip ups in the future, so to speak.