Keith Hackett: UEFA to take strong action as Scott McTominay targeted in Scotland loss

03/24/2025 03:29 PM

Greece could be punished over an incident involving Scotland midfielder Scott McTominay during the recent Nations League clash between the two countries.

The former PGMOL chief and ex-FIFA official exclusively told Football Insider that UEFA will not be scared to take strong action after the Napoli midfielder was targeted by lasers while taking a penalty.

Steve Clarke‘s side ultimately suffered relegation from the top tier of the Nations League after being beaten 3-1 on aggregate by the Greeks over the two legs.

That though was only after Scotland had initially taken the lead in the tie, courtesy of a big contribution from McTominay in spite of some significant adversity.

Scott McTominay nets penalty despite laser distraction

The first leg of this Nations League tie was played in Greece on Thursday (20 March), with the Scots claiming a 1-0 win in that match.

That came after the Napoli midfielder converted from the penalty after 33 minutes, with Graeme Souness questioning why Man United sold McTominay.

What made his penalty even more impressive was that the 28-year-old clearly had lasers shined at him as he lined up to take that penalty for Scotland.

Hackett now believes that could lead to punishment for the Greeks when it comes to their future matches.

Keith Hackett reacts to Greece vs Scotland controversy

After being asked by Football Insider if UEFA could and should take any action against Greece over the targeting of McTominay with lasers, the former referee said:

“First of all if during the game there is a laser being detected and the referee made aware of it then additional security could be put into that area.

“That will then focus, in England or Scotland, you’ve got security people with videos on the supporters.

“So the first thing they would do in Europe, if this is picked up is literally to stop the game and issue a public warning to the fans. That’s the first thing, because lasers are extremely dangerous, there’s no question about the danger to the individual player.

“UEFA will investigate, now UEFA may fine, but what they may do, is the next time a game is played in that stadium is close off that section of supporters, that’s the type of thing they do.

“Or taking it one stage further. They, in UEFA terms at international level I remember when I was appointed Greece vs Holland, which was going to take place in the Olympic Stadium in Athens.

“We were woken after midnight and informed to get out of the hotel because the game was to be changed from playing in Greece, in Athens, and it took place in Rhodes.

“They went from a 60/70,000 spectator stadium to something like 3,000, so much so that the changing facilities weren’t good enough at that stadium for an international match…

“So the point I’m making is that UEFA take much further action in these situations than what normal federations would take.

“So they could say ‘you play your next game not in that stadium’, so expect fairly strong punishment.”

With the pressure building on Steve Clarke after that aggregate defeat to Greece, the focus for Scotland is now on their qualifying campaign for the 2026 World Cup.

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