IT has become extremely difficult to keep track of which club is currently and also historically the most discriminated against by referees.
Rangers were in the lead back in August. Remember up at Pittodrie, after the very first game, when Steven Gerrard bemoaned the ‘world being against’ his club. Later on came the suggestion Willie Collum was biased, and not in favour of the famous Glasgow. It was a strong case. Or not.
But then Neil Lennon claimed Hibs played against 12 men in a defeat at Celtic Park; referee Don Robertson being the extra man.
Motherwell’s Stephen Robinson wanted officials to go full-time so they could do their jobs properly Steve Clarke has been a constant critic of our men in the middle, while Craig Levein is, well, Craig Levein and loves a moan.
Derek McInnes was furious with Andrew Dallas who awarded Celtic a penalty in the League Cup Final for a handball that wasn’t a handball which wasn’t inside the box but the Aberdeen manager has been knowns to take a pop and his chairman, Stewart Milne, didn’t hold back this season when he spoke of the “serious issues” surrounding referees.
And then came last weekend and those four penalties at Ibrox. Mr Dallas, again, found himself in the centre of a hullabaloo.
And to top it all, former ref Steve Conroy insists he was only Jungle Jim among his colleagues, most of the rest were bluenoses, and Tom Boyd, former Celtic captain, insisted “neutral” referees must be bought in because our current crop were not good enough and, going by the word he used, biased. I’m guessing against Celtic.
Ironically, the only one speaking adult was Oran Kearney whose St Mirren team were the ones actually hard done by.
And while his players were never going to take a point from Ibrox, that defeat and now a worse goal difference edged them closer to relegation, which will mean sackings and wages being halved. You know. Real stuff.
They can’t all be right. They can’t all be wrong. And if you look outside the world is still spinning, even after some dodgy decisions which at least gives us all something to talk about. But it feels as if we’ve reached rock bottom in terms of how Bobby, Willie, John, Andrew and Steven are viewed.
What troubles me still are the less than subtle suggestions from supporters of Rangers and Celtic who have ‘proof’ of mysterious forces out to get them, whether it be Opus Dei or the masons.
Oh, and Referee X drinks in the Louden Tavern or Brazen Head. The clubs, incidentally, don’t exactly distance themselves with this behaviour.
There is a film called ‘Anyone but Celtic’ with scenes filmed inside Celtic Park and with a guest appearance from, would you believe, Tom Boyd. You can guess what the plot, pun intended, is.
Celtic have won over 100 trophies, including the last seven in a row. They are one of the most successful football clubs on the planet. Perhaps the film should be retitled ‘Anyone but Celtic don’t win anything in Scotland.’
Oh, and the idea Rangers are hard done by is laughable. Some of the nonsense which have come by way of the statements shames the club.
Right, here goes. The referees in Scotland aren’t very good. They are not given enough help by their assistants, fourth official and the SFA. That they aren’t allowed to talk in public is a shambles and puts them under even more pressure.
The only consistency in decisions made on the park and inside Hampden is that there is gross inconsistency.
Every single club believes it’s them against everyone else. Ask the supporters of Albion Rovers and they will have as many tales of awful officialdom from this season as any those mentioned above.
But referees in Scotland are not cheats, which Boyd suggested. However, they need to improve, as do the three colleagues they have with them for Premiership games.
If our game is crooked, we need to scrap it and start again. However, these pub bores with an internet platform need to prove their accusations with facts. The only fact that counts is human beings make mistakes. Especially when they have whistle in their mouths.
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