McNamara appeals for strong refereeing

SCOTLAND defender Jackie McNamara has called for referee Claude Colombo to be strong during his side’s make-or-break Euro 2004 qualifier with Lithuania.

McNamara has suffered once already at the hands of Algimantas Liubinskas' team as he was adjudged to have given away a penalty in Kaunas in April.

The Celtic man insisted he had not touched his opponent, but Austrian official Fritz Stuchlik thought otherwise and awarded the spot-kick which produced the only goal of the game.