Scotland boss 'angry' after Caroline Weir 'targeted' by Belgium players

Scotland manager Pedro Martinez Losa has accused the Belgium players of targeting Caroline Weir in the 1-1 draw at Hampden on Tuesday.

The Real Madrid playmaker was forced off with a knee injury in the first half of the Nations League game in Glasgow.

Belgium took the lead early in the second-half before Scotland fought back to earn a point with a last minute equaliser.

But Martinez Losa was angry at the treatment of Weir and criticised the referee for not protecting the player.

He said: “I am very angry, we have an injury to our best player, the opponent was looking to deliberately hurt her and it is the duty of the referee to protect the players.

“I think that is very important that we compete at this level, we were punished on Friday with a decision from the referee and tonight I don’t think the referee was even aware of what was going on.

“The opponent targeted Caroline with the first three actions and after Caroline was taken off they targeted Kirsty Hanson and that is very disappointing.

“We are playing in a big competition and we have to be at a high standard. Apart from that there was a lot of positives, we expected this level from Belgium and knew how difficult it would be.

“We had chances from the beginning and we discussed at half-time that to stay in the game we had to keep on competing and we scored with our last chance.

“So it’s a mix of feelings, very proud of the team but frustrated because I think the better team on the pitch was Scotland.

“I don’t know their game plan, but I can only describe what I see and I work at the highest level of football so when I analyse the opponent I knew we had to press them.

“But I seen our best player having to leave the pitch injured from a tackle that I don’t think the referee even sees. So I am frustrated that the person who has to protect the players is not even aware of what is happening.

“It’s unquestionable that Caroline’s a world-class player who can make a difference for us, but also not having Erin Cuthbert in this camp, we lost Emma Watson.

“The message for me is even with that the team was on the pitch competing well.

“We were able to find spaces and play behind in other moments. It doesn’t matter which player came in or came out, we took the level and it gave us a little energy, but at that time the opponent was really organised with defending well.”