Georgia skipper backs James McFadden to shine

Oct 19 2007

GEORGIA captain Zurab Khizanishvili revealed that only his friendship with James McFadden prevented him giving the Scotland striker a volley of abuse during the 2-0 defeat in Tbilisi.

But he is now backing McFadden to fire Scotland to victory over Italy in next month’s winner-takes-all clash at Hampden.

In Scotland’s tense Euro 2008 qualifier in the Boris Paichadze National Stadium, Georgia’s 17-year-old striker Levan Mchedlidze headed the home side into the lead after 16 minutes to stun Alex McLeish’s side.

The visitors rallied but before the break German referee Knut Kircher refused a more than decent penalty claim when McFadden was challenged clumsily by Khizanishvili inside the Georgian penalty area.

The Everton striker reacted furiously to the decision to play on and threw a tantrum which Khizanishvili attempted to contain.

McFadden was in no doubt that he had been denied a clear penalty and said: “It was a stonewall penalty. It was a big decision and a wrong decision and that’s not right.”

However, Blackburn defender Khizanishvili said: “To be honest, I haven’t seen the incident on television but the referee was just about five or six yards away and he didn’t say anything.

“James was shouting and I didn’t want him booked or sent off before the Italian game. I said ‘Just calm down’.

“He is my friend, he is a good lad and if it was somebody else then maybe I would have said something much stronger.

“But he is a good lad and I didn’t want him to shout at the referee.

“I am looking forward to him playing against Italy because he is Scotland’s most important player and he was their best player against us.

“James plays in England and he knows that sometimes in England you will not get a penalty for that.

“There was a little contact but the referee didn’t say anything. Maybe television shows different, I don’t know.

“There were many dangerous fouls in both boxes and he could have given penalties for both sides – but he is a good German referee!”

A second-half strike by David Siradze added to the sense of frustration in the Scotland camp.

With France beating Lithuania 2-0, McLeish’s men will almost certainly need to beat Italy next month to make sure of a place at next summer’s finals in Austria and Switzerland.

A draw would only be enough for Scotland if France lose to Ukraine in their final match, four days after Italy’s visit to Glasgow, or if the Azzurri crash to minnows the Faroe Islands in their last game.

Asked if Scotland were good enough to overcome the World Cup holders in a one-off game, former Rangers defender Khizanishvili said: “I would say yes. “Scotland beat France twice and I would say France are better than the Italians, they are stronger and have more quality players.

“I know the Scottish supporters will make it a great game at Hampden and I wish them all the best.”

McFadden added: “We have to go back to our clubs now and get ready for the challenge.

“We can bounce back but we need the backing from everybody and we need the right mentality for the Italy game.

“We let Georgia play too much. I don’t know if everybody was sidetracked looking towards the Italy game but that’s all we’ve got now.

“But we know if we win we are through. It’s going to be a massive occasion but we definitely have the personnel to rise to it.”