Scotland fans blast ‘scandalous’ Euro 2024 call up snub from Steve Clarke

SCOTLAND fans were debating for months over who should be on Steve Clarke’s plane for Germany – with many players perhaps unfortunate to miss out when he made his final selection.

The Tartan Army boss stuck to his guns in the end though and selected a group who have rarely let him down, with the likes of Ben Doak given the nod as a wildcard – before he was unfortunately ruled out of the Euros through injury.

5

Fans went into the tournament with a lot of hope following their stunning qualifying campaign, but there’s no longer the same optimism after Friday’s devastating 5-1 opening game defeat to Germany.

Attention now turns towards Switzerland and Hungary – and many fans say they would have more confidence in Clarke’s men if one uncapped star was in his squad.

That’s after his latest wonder strike went viral on social media, with one Scot branding his call up snub a “scandalous” decision from the former Kilmarnock gaffer.

Ryan Gauld, 28, has been a hot topic among Scotland fans in recent years ever since his rise in Portugal with Farense.

Once dubbed the Scottish Messi when he was coming through the ranks at Dundee United as a teenager, Gauld was snapped up by Sporting CP in 2014 and many believed he was set for stardom as Scotland’s next big thing.

But despite being a regular in the Scotland youth teams, the playmaker has still yet to feature for the senior side.

Fans have been crying out for him to be called up following his recent form in the MLS with Vancouver Whitecaps, where he has netted nine and provided three assists in 17 appearances.

That’s after his stellar campaign last season too with 11 goals and 13 assists in the league.

And he netted two against New England yesterday, with his stoppage time goal breaking the internet.

The 28-year-old received the ball around 30 yards from goal in the latter stages of the tie and wasted no time before taking and aim and letting rip with a thunder strike.

It left fans inside the stadium speechless and opposition goalie Aljaz Ivacic rooted to the spot as Gauld pulled one back, with his team eventually losing 3-2 in the end.

The goal even made its way to Scotland as many Tartan Army faithfuls gave their verdict on the midfielder and slammed Clarke’s decision not to bring him to Germany.

One said: “Get him on the plane.”

5

5

Another hit out: “No idea why Scotland never took him to the Euros!!!”

Someone else asked: “@ScotlandNT Why isn’t he in the squad?”

A fourth added: “Imagine if the @ScotlandNT had a player that could do that.”

While a fifth questioned: “Steve Clarke not picking him is beyond me but picks Morgan?”

Clarke was quizzed on Gauld’s situation earlier this month after he brought in fellow MLS star Lewis Morgan in from the cold, along with Tommy Conway.

The manager urged Gauld not to be disappointed about his latest snub and instead insisted that Morgan’s call up should inspire him.

New YouTube channel

Subscribe to our new Scottish Sun Sport YouTube channel for all the latest football news, views and videos as Scotland heads to the Euros.

Watch our daily GoBallistic podcast with Roger Hannah and our SunSport team in Germany as the Tartan Army marches on Munich in search of glory.

Subscribe now and don’t miss a moment. Herr we go!

He said: “For some reason people seem to think we don’t watch the MLS – but we do.

“It doesn’t bother me people think we don’t watch, because I know what we’re doing behind the scenes.

“I don’t care what anybody else says, I know me and my staff are doing everything we can to take as wide a view across the world.

“I believe the other one who gets mentioned in the MLS quite a lot is Ryan Gauld.

“But Ryan’s trying to get in ahead of John McGinn, Scott McTominay, Lewis Ferguson, who’s obviously injured now, Ryan Christie and Billy Gilmour.

“So he maybe has to be a little more patient.

5

“But I’m hoping with Lewis’ call-up Ryan’s now sitting in Vancouver thinking, ‘Hmm, that could have been me’, because it could have been.

“If we’d lost a midfielder it could have been someone else.

“Position for position, everyone has to know that we’re watching and to always perform to their maximum, because you just never know.

“We’ve two boys who’ve come in this time and what a chance it is for them.

“We’ve got some older boys in the squad as well and as we move forward to the Nations League games, there might be a little refresh.

“So just keep doing what you’re doing.”

Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page