Some of us are old enough to remember the days when we played football in the streets with lamp posts for goals. The “baw” in my day was a plastic “Hampden Frido” (with wee studs that left yer forehead looking like a golf ball when heading it – see picture) and a “Wembley Mettoy”.
Cue memories of MouldMasters and days of pain and glory
But I digress.
The plastic ball was prone to bursting and on a good day or evening a replacement was secured by the original version of crowd funding.; However, the Calton then was a poor neighbourhood and sometimes the “baw” depended on the generosity of a single provider.
This came with risks because generous folk can still be bad losers and if the provider’s team of rags, taigs and bluenoses (remember when that didn’t matter) was getting a drubbing or a high shot was deemed a goal but he protested because he was only 4 feet 6 tall and ,with no crossbar ,height is but a subjective perspective, hence argumentative, or perhaps the goal that created a 10 goal gap occasionally saw the baw ,metaphorical if not physically, land on the slates, at which point the provider and now owner, out of his sense of entitlement as owner, grab the baw and threatened to storm off in the huff.
As long as the game was everything and in the Calton then EVERYTHING was fitbaw, the bawless plebs were only too willing to reduce the imaginary cross bar height or take their foot off the gas, hence the derogatory saying of those who capitulate too easily “they hivnae any baws”.
Memories! Wit are they like and what is the connection to modern day Scottish professional football?
I’m indebted to this article by The Battered Bunnet first posted on CQN on 30 June 2012 at https://www.celticquicknews.co.uk/abject-failure-of-leadership/comment-page-2/#comment-1479329 since reproduced on other blogs including SFM but worth reproducing here:
“Senior Hampden source tells ch4news cannot see how RFC were allowed to play lastseason at all. Doesn’t believe they met finance criteria…”
Alex Thomson – Twitter
Alex Thomson’s tweets yesterday re ‘senior Hampden source’ casting doubt on Rangers’ eligibility to obtain a Club Licence last year were rather intriguing.
We have by now a clearer picture of the failure of governance at Rangers through the David Murray/ John McClelland/ Alastair Johnston/ Craig Whyte years, albeit we await further definitive details from the judgement of the Tax Tribunal. Essentially, over a period spanning 2 decades, the means that Rangers used to sustain its football operation utterly disregarded the requirements of both corporate governance and football regulation. While the scandal related solely to payments and procedures within Rangers, we could hope that it was contained internally.
However, the revelation that Rangers paid former manager Souness via EBT while he was manager at Blackburn Rovers confirmed for the first time that the scandal had become external. I understand that RangersTaxCase and Alex Thomson have further information on the extent of payments to Souness and also to Walter Smith, and look forward to the details being revealed, but it is now clear that the Rangers ‘toxin’ had leached out of the club by 2001.
The compelling question now is: How far did the toxin spread?
Was it contained within the ‘outer circle’ of former Rangers employees, however inexplicable such payments may appear? Or did it extend beyond that outer circle, and contaminate senior figures in the Game in Scotland. The contamination does not relate solely to payments from Rangers’offshore trust, but more subtly perhaps, the behaviour of individuals in positions of influence.
We know that Rangers’ Executive Chairman JohnMcClelland was an SPL Board member during the startling ramp up of EBT use from 2003 to 2005, and was himself a beneficiary of the scheme.
We know that Rangers’ Chief Executive Martin Bain was an SPL Board member 2008 to 2011, coinciding with the receipt by Rangers of the HMRC assessments on the EBT scheme, of which he was himself a beneficiary.
We know that current SFA President Campbell Ogilvie was simultaneously an SFA Director and Executive Director and Company Secretary of Rangers, and was a beneficiary of the scheme.
These parallel functions of course present a profound conflict of interest for each man, at once implementing a scam on the Game to disguise a fraud on the Revenue, while owing specific legal duties of care to the Game being scammed.
So far, so shabby.
Thomson’s tweets yesterday indicate a doubt on the part of a ‘senior Hampden source’ that Rangers were eligible to hold a Club Licence last season, thus disqualifying them from participating in European competition, and perhaps Scottish Football too. Is this doubt grounded in a retrospective review of the licence qualifying criteria given what has emerged recently? Or was there a ‘blind eye’ turned by the SFA’s Licensing Committee to information in the public domain at the time of the Licence application? In this respect the ‘Wee Tax Case’ represented a fundamental failure against at least one Licence criterion.
The proposals to the SFL clubs this week make it plain that should the SFA conclude the outstanding Disciplinary issues against Rangers with either suspension or expulsion of Rangers from the SFA(perhaps the only sanctions remaining available to the SFA following Lord Glennie’s Judicial Review) that the Game will face ‘financial meltdown’.
Concurrently, the SPL has adjudged Rangers to have a prima facie case to answer in respect of SPL rule breaches on player registration, the outcome of which will confirm that the club fielded ineligible players in upwards of 400 SPL matches. The only possible disciplinary outcome given such a sustained breach of SPL rules, corrupting the completion as it did from its inception in 1999 to 2011, is expulsion from theSPL.
As a consequence, the SFA, as the authority responsible for implementing FIFA’s Rules on the Registration of Players, will be required to act on these breaches of FIFA rules. Again, expulsion for what amounts to Championship fixing is inevitable.
Curiously, the SFL, this week asking its members to vote to admit the Sevco Rangers club into their top tier, has the same issue given that its League Cup competition featured dozens of ineligible Rangers players through the years, and further claims by Hugh Adam that its‘Premier Division’ competition during the 1990s was similarly bent through the use of ‘off the books’ payments to players by Rangers.
The scale of it all is breath-taking and were the rules of the Game to be applied, Rangers FC would be expelled from each Governing body in turn, before we even consider the extraordinary breaches of faith and duties by co-serving Directors.
But according to the SFL/SFA/SPL circular to clubs, “Rangers Terminated or Suspended’ will cause “Financial Meltdown”.
To avoid this meltdown, it is proposed by the Executives of the combined SFL/SFA/SPL that the rules of the Game are not applied to Rangers, and that the clubs effectively rewrite the rule book to permit what remains of the club to compete at the top of the SFL.
In effect, according to the Governing Bodies,the Rules of the Game CANNOT be applied to Rangers or the Game’s finances will‘meltdown’.
The corollary question this raises is: For how long have the Governing bodies been so unable to apply the Rules of the Game to Rangers? Is this a new epiphany, or a longer standing recognition?
When Rangers submitted their allegedly ineligible application for a Club Licence in 2011, did the SFA recognise that Rangers failing to participate in Europe would cause the club to fail, as it subsequently did? Were the Rules ignored to avoid ‘financial meltdown’ then?
How far did the toxin spread?
Did this recognition extend back to the period following the disintegration of Murray International, hitherto Rangers’ source of continuing funding? Was the season of ‘Honest Mistakes’ some absurd, dutiful reaction to the recognition that should Rangers fail, Scottish Football would melt down?
Was the ineligible status of so many of Rangers’ first team players noticed prior to the SPL’s Inquiry commencing on 5th March? Was it noticed in an Audit as part of the SFA’s Club Licensing process some years ago? Was it noticed by the recent SFA Chief Executive Gordon Smith, who as an Agent had represented players on Rangers’ books through his Directorship of Prostar Management and other Agencies?
Beyond the duplicity of Ogilvie, McClelland and Bain, were Rangers’ irregular practices known to others at the SFA and SPL,others who chose not to address the matter, thus further contaminated the Governing Bodies with the Rangers toxin?
It is heartening that the Liquidators of Rangers plc will be instructed to examine all of the circumstances surrounding the failure of Rangers as a corporate entity. Equally, perhaps the detail contained in the Tax Tribunal judgement will reveal further connections,hitherto unknown.
What is likely to remain hidden from view though, is the full extent to which key influencers at the Governing Bodies were aware of Rangers’ conduct and circumstances, and how this affected their behaviour and their decision making in applying the rules of the Game to that club.
What we can say with certainty now though is that the people holding office at the Governing Bodies are unable or unwilling to apply the Rules of the Game to Rangers, despite the breaches being fundamentally and profoundly corrupt. The SFA and SPL, despite having outstanding disciplinary cases against Rangers that will, in all other circumstances see the club expelled from the Game, are intent to delete the cases provided the SFL clubs accept the Sevco Rangers into the SFL’s top division.
The Rules of the Game cannot be applied to Rangers.
When the rules cannot be applied, the Game itself is broken, and we can say now with some certainty that the Rangers toxin has spread beyond the club, its former employees and Directors of the Governing Bodies, and contaminated the very Game itself. The Office Bearers of the SFA,whose FIFA mandate requires them to “protect and foster the Game” in Scotland,and “protect it from abuses”, have contrived to do the contrary, to the point where the Game is stricken.
It is for this reason that a thorough clear out of the Office Bearers in the Governing Bodies is now a prerequisite to the Game recovering from the poison inflicted upon it by Rangers. The dissolution of the Governing Bodies is perhaps appropriate.
Clear your desk Gentlemen, the bus to ignominy departs shortly.
The position that the SFA and then SPL found themselves in is perfectly clear from the foregoing. Desperately keen for commercial reasons to hold onto the “baw” they changed the rules, but never took ownership of the baw from the owner and so are still beholden to him.
Hence the blog title “We Are Going To Need Another Baw “ because the one currently in play is burst, stuffed with £14M worth of share vouchers.
What was done in 2012 was understandably commercially necessary, but the price to be paid was twofold:
- Not just to the integrity of our game then but the ongoing price now, where all energies are directed at continuing to pretend that the rules are followed without fear of favour.
- The idea that the Scottish game cannot survive without a “ Rangers” is one that most folk would accept but the danger arising, which is unacceptable, is that because of it “Rangers” think they can do as they please as a result which requires rules to be reinforced. And seen to be reinforced.
They clearly aren’t under the SFA’s own rule enforcing process called the Judicial Panel Protocol https://www.sfm.scot/jpp-perverting-justice/ not to mention Club Licensing processes that have so far manged to avoid the scrutiny that, had Resolution 12 been acted upon in 2013, would have resulted in changes that would protect the game from all those who think it is still their baw.
The general perception of supporters is that lessons have not been learned from past behaviour.
Until there is evidence that they have, for example: the Judicial Panel Disciplinary Tribunal investigating at snail’s pace the process followed in 2011 that allowed a UEFA licence to be granted to Rangers FC without question, coming to conclusion or providing reasons why it cannot by the spring, the perception will continue to be “Its all about Rangers” followed by what is the point?.
Is it not about time now that the fear that drove thinking in 2012 was faced and recognised by all clubs as unfounded and a new integrity filled baw was used?
What is there to fear now from restoring integrity to its rightful place, unless of course you were party to the thinking that kicked the integrity of our game to death in 2012 and are still in a position of influence?
upthehoops 4th February 2019 at 07:18
'……I see Kenny Macintyre from the BBC on Twitter bumping his gums about discussing it all on Sportsound tonight..'
Ex Ludo 4th February 2019 at 08:24
"… to prove either way of course but the incredulity in Jonathan Sutherland’s voice as he reacted to the penalty decisions in his match commentary is telling."
*************
I run these two comments together because of their common theme, namely [as I see it] that each incidentally points out what I believe to be the malaise that infects the BBC.
A couple of months ago, on tv, Sutherland was clearly ordered in mid-broadcast to get off a dangerous line of questioning. He obeyed, under pressure of being live on TV. But I can believe his' incredulity' as upthehoops comments on.
Kenny Mac, however, in my opinion, cannot and will not see things with an objective eye. He is, like auld Chick, parti pris, and, consequently, is about as useless as Big Derek as any kind of chair person of a live- on- air discussion. A bit more respectful and polite, perhaps, than James Traynor ever was, but nevertheless quite useless-because he gets involved as a participant in the feckin discussion, rather than as moderator to ensure that the discussion is balanced. And, of course, he has bought into the myth .
Entitled to his opinions? Of course.
Entitled to flog them on air when 'I' and 'you' are paying him? Absolutely not!
I know of course, that a fish rots from the head, so I can have some sympathy with the Kenny Macs and Jonathans : no sympathy with The Controller.
Darkbeforedawn 4th February 2019 at 11:29
CO, I am just not convinced we have the quality of referees required for the game. It may be the training, or the nepotism that means referee's are in positions because of who their family are.
————————————————————————————————————–
How can we nurture the required quality, when the only systems available are as above?…Shooting the puppet is for nought, without first shooting the puppeteer.
It is beyond doubt a failed system and not fit for purpose.
100% agree with you CO. I don't think you will find fans of a single team in Scotland who would disagree that the referee system in Scotland is broken and not fit for purpose.
Ex Ludo, absolutely 'spot on' about goal difference.
Currently, St.Mirren prop up the table, 2 points behind Dundee. Same number of games.
St.Mirren are on a GD of -34, Dundee is on -31.
Excluding the TRFC penalties, they could have won 1-0.
The Buddies would be on same GD as Dundee of -31.
Ok, that's all ifs, buts and mibbees, but a relegation could be based on a 1 goal difference too.
…to state the bleedin' obvious…
So, 4 penalties awarded to one team in a game should automatically trigger a review, and perhaps with the ref put on line or 4th official duty in the interim?
When Defoe realised that he had gone down over a tackle that hadn't occurred he picked himself up pronto to get on with the game, as that is the only way he might have avoided a booking for diving in the league he is accustomed to playing in. Up here, he had to stop running so he could be given a penalty.
Smugas 4th February 2019 at 12:47 7 I’ll actually give Defoe a partial benefit of the doubt here. He does anticipate the contact and he does go down just as he equally readily bounces back up again knowing full well it’s not even a foul. The bit he didn’t foresee and can’t really control was the (aye) readiness of the obviously star struck Dallas pointing to the spot. But im quite sure even he would then have expected when the next 50:50 penalty came that he would err on the side of caution. He will learn.
___________
Sorry, Smugas, I don't get the 'anticipating contact' bit, at all, as being something different than taking a dive. I am sure that sometimes what's taken as a dive is no more than a fall, but there can be little doubt that Defoe didn't fall when he threw himself forward. He is not a young, inexperienced player, either, and will have learned to be cute a long time ago and realised that diving without claiming a penalty will be more effective, and reduce the chances of a booking, than rolling about and screaming 'penalty'.
Defoe knew what he was doing, for why else would he 'anticipate contact' and go down before the non-existent contact took place? Why risk it being seen as diving by the ref when, if he knew contact was coming, he would have got the penalty for sure?
I think the only question to be answered is, is this a deliberate and practiced ploy by Gerrard's Rangers to help willing referees give them their traditional penalties?
PS It is often said that teams that attack more than their opponents generally get more penalties because they are playing the ball inside the box most often. If this is true, why do TRFC (and previously Rangers) get more penalties than Celtic? When did Celtic last get three penalties, let alone four, in one game?
BP / TRIS, are you enjoying all this talk about referees…?
But I suppose the fact that they are continuing to dominate the talk around Scottish football confirms that something is seriously wrong with football governance.
Really good refs: you don't even notice them on pitch – nevermind write miles of comments about them.
I vaguely remember Celtic being awarded 3 pens at Pittodrie a few years back missing two and being beaten on the day referee being Willie Young
This site seems to keep historic penalty stats.
https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/scottish-premiership/topErhalteneElfmeter/wettbewerb/SC1/plus/?saison_id=2016
penalty stats
Darkbeforedawn 4th February 2019 at 11:29
4 13 Rate This
CO, I am just not convinced we have the quality of referees required for the game. It may be the training, or the nepotism that means referee’s are in positions because of who their family are. But regardless, I know the state of refereeing the world over is poor, but the ineptitude in Scotland is beyond anything I’ve seen anywhere else.
………………..
Malaga would agree with you there April 11, 2013.
https://mobile.twitter.com/ClusterOne2/status/1092493333111472128?p=v
It is as if the SFA's mantra is if it is broken and we don't know how to fix it, then leave it alone and hope it goes away and will fix itself
The debates on SSB and the BBC going down predictable lines although Michael Stewart ridiculing Darryl Broadfoots comments are worth the licence fee. Darryl defending referees to the hilt and also attempting to deflect some of the responsibility for the Dallas decisions onto linesmen.
Ex Ludo, the very fact that Broadfoot was given air time at all speaks volumes.
Deflection, misinformation, and downright BS as expected from the ex-SFA Communications guy.
Now as an independent I presume he is still on a retainer at Hampden?
Our very own JC met with Macrae and "Mr.SFA" Broadfoot, and IIRC John was suitably unimpressed.
The SMSM is just like the SFA: consistently p!sh, IMO.
Ex Ludo 4th February 2019 at 08:24
=============================================
How dare you.
Steven Gerrard has never been a diver, for either club or country.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vP8u_AD2VCk
I just want to say it. I want to give air to my disgust at Scottish Football and the Scottish Football Association in particular. I will not bore you by going over the points which readers and contributors to this forum have articulated and expressed ad nauseam.
I know too, how hard it is for the football fan to withdraw his/her support for their favoured football team. Because if you withdraw your support you indirectly aid your teams opponents.
In addition, we are far from creating an accountable and transparent organisation which merits our trust to govern fairly and evenhandedly the game in Scotland. Is there eg a hint of truth in the accusations made against the make up and preponderance of masonic membership in our referees?
There is a lack of accountability in all that they do from recruitment, promotion, secret panels of ex referees etc (and goodness knows the decisions made by those responsible are without competence and reason) and yet it continues.
So may I propose that if we have the game at heart and if we want meaningful change ( and I don't think settling for the introduction of VAR can paper over the entrenched SFA corruption) that we withdraw our support from our National team Scotland. We in Scotland are living a lie engineered by the SFA. Let us try and get our game back before we completely destroy it in suspicion and acrimony. Should we not unite to create an organisation that can administer our game without fear or favour?
A depressing petition, I acknowledge, but how else do we make our voice heard?
H, of course StevieG was most certainly not a diver.
He just had a habit of slipping…badly.
It’s not difficult to fathom how the creative thought process that gave rise to the Broadfootian notion of “shitness shared equally (between 2 of 42) is no longer shitness “ leads quickly to “let’s ignore 12 years of cheating since they were going to win it anyway.” I know I’m hearing him say it. But I’m starting to think he actually believes it!
The Daily Record AkA the Beano has stated that former Ref Mr Conroy (who was a Celtic fan and a catholic) knew of no Catholic refs at his level. I assume he is a grade 1 ref. Is anyone really suprised at this? Why is that we may ask?
Valentinesclown 4th February 2019 at 22:48
The Daily Record AkA the Beano has stated that former Ref Mr Conroy (who was a Celtic fan and a catholic) knew of no Catholic refs at his level. I assume he is a grade 1 ref. Is anyone really suprised at this? Why is that we may ask?
=======================
To be fair he never mentioned religion, only that there are more Rangers supporting grade 1 Refs than any other team, and none that support Celtic. He was unable to offer a view why more Rangers fans make it, or perhaps he just didn't want to. It doesn't take much working out all the same and it smacks of the employment practices that I grew up with in the 70's and 80's when my company was under Scottish control, but lessened noticeably when coming into foreign ownership. Put bluntly Rangers fans who were also Freemasons had a far better chance of promotion, and favourable treatment. Many an argument I had about it and one overriding view always came through, that Freemasons treated everyone equally and were honest and fair people, and there was nothing to fear. It was patronising nonsense but it was allowed. The bias and favouritism was evident, but clearly met their idea of fairness. If this is the thinking behind who makes it to be a Grade 1 Referee then God help us all.
I've just listened to last night's BBC Sportsound and I was curious to hear how Darryl 'I Used To Be The SFA' Broadfoot would be introduced. It would be helpful to find out how the BBC view his credentials and qualifications and how he would add to the gravitas of the debate.
I'm still waiting.
An uninformed listener would have no idea who or what he is other than a passing reference to his 'time at the SFA'.
If there was a Declaration Of Interest Register at the BBC it would disclose that Mr Broadfoot was SFA Head of Communications until January 2017. In March 2017 he became a Partner of Frame; a Glasgow based Public Relations firm. In June 2017 the SFA became a client of Frame.
Unless something has changed there's every chance that the bilge coming from Mr Broadfoot last night was being fuelled by a licence payer funded fee from the BBC and a fee from Frame to the SFA which would be funded by football supporters.
Nice work if you can get it.
As for Dallas: Where are the grassy knoll and the Bookshop Depository when you need them?
A headline I wouldn't have expected to appear in the SMSM;
"Ex-Celtic captain Tom Boyd calls for Scotland to import referees"
Read more at: https://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/competitions/premiership/ex-celtic-captain-tom-boyd-calls-for-scotland-to-import-referees-1-4867799
============================
Wonder if the SFA or Scottish Referees Association will take notice?
And for the prices clubs are now charging for League games in particular, it should be their responsibility to ensure that fans – the paying customers – get value for money.
Clubs ensuring that games are competently managed, [via their own membership of the SFA], should be a basic requirement, IMO.
upthehoops 5th February 2019 at 07:11
This Valentinesclown 4th February 2019 at 22:48 The Daily Record AkA the Beano has stated that former Ref Mr Conroy (who was a Celtic fan and a catholic) knew of no Catholic refs at his level. I assume he is a grade 1 ref. Is anyone really suprised at this? Why is that we may ask? ======================= To be fair he never mentioned religion, only that there are more Rangers supporting grade 1 Refs than any other team, and none that support Celtic. He was unable to offer a view why more Rangers fans make it, or perhaps he just didn't want to. It doesn't take much working out all the same and it smacks of the employment practices that I grew up with in the 70's and 80's when my company was under Scottish control, but lessened noticeably when coming into foreign ownership. Put bluntly Rangers fans who were also Freemasons had a far better chance of promotion, and favourable treatment. Many an argument I had about it and one overriding view always came through, that Freemasons treated everyone equally and were honest and fair people, and there was nothing to fear. It was patronising nonsense but it was allowed. The bias and favouritism was evident, but clearly met their idea of fairness. If this is the thinking behind who makes it to be a Grade 1 Referee then God help us all.
___________
I watched Paul Larkin's 'Anyone But Celtic' yesterday and even making allowance for his undenied bias, it's quite an eye-opener. Not just because of – what should I call it – the lack of top grade Catholic referees, but the preponderance of freemasons and number of top grade referees drawn from the county of Lanarkshire.
Quite simply, it would be impossible for the imbalance to exist without deliberate and unashamed bias.
Re : Lee McCulloch
Giving an interview for The Sun to-day basically bumming up SG & comparing him favourably with Walter Smith . I had my misgivings when DUFC (my club) recently employed LMcC & this article confirms my fears – v.similar situ to Barry Ferguson commenting on all things @ The Rangers whilst employed elsewhere in the game .
I hope someone @ DUFC has a word in his shell .
Craig Levein has a solution to the penalty controversy.
https://twitter.com/i/status/1092750642509217792
Naegreetin@11.50
And don’t forget Mr Boyd at Kilmarnock. A paranoid person might think there was a conspiracy afoot. Not me though.
Speaking of statements, a very short statement on the t’Rangers official website informs the reader that Carlos Peña is no longer a t’Rangers player. Weirdly, if the reader scrolls down the page then there is an article keeping fans up to date with on loan players development. Yes, you’ve guessed it, Señor Peña is there too. To be fair the article is dated February 2018. What’s the name of the IT guy again?
naegreetin 5th February 2019 at 11:50
'.Lee McCulloch…..Giving an interview for The Sun to-day basically bumming up SG & comparing him favourably with Walter Smith'
******************
Well, of course, Gerrard has not had the benefit of working for a Board that uses EBTs to cheat the taxman and buy 'success' by buying players that they could not otherwise afford. (LNS, curl up in shame!)
Gerrard's moderate success to date has at least been ( the refereeing question aside!) honestly won in terms of the budget that , as far as I am aware, has been legally available to him.
By that measure, his moderate achievements with the new club mean more in football terms than the fundamentally cheating achievements of Smith with the now liquidated club.
Achievements which the new club laughably claim as their own: an untruth which our Governance body in the most base dereliction of duty and honour, go to extraordinary lengths to endorse and propagate.
'Refereeing' standards may be low, but by God there is nothing lower than a sports governing body which endorses sports cheating!
For as long as the 5-Way Agreement allows an unentitled sports club to claim credit for the sporting achievements of a club that died some years ago, NOTHING that the SFA has to say about 'refereeing standards' or about 'sporting integrity' or any aspect of the governance of our sport can be taken on trust.
The Big Lie has to be rescinded before there can be any restoration of trust. What is the ancient saw ?-'Fcuk me once, shame on you. Fcuk me twice, shame on me!'
The actual sporting truth simply has to acknowledged: TRFC Ltd is not, cannot possibly be, the RFC of 1872 foundation.
Until that Truth is admitted publicly, every football match under the auspices of the SFA is no more than part of a sham of sport.
Why compete, when the whole foundation of the sport is skewed, when cheats are allowed to cheat with impunity, and secondary cheats are allowed to make money on the back of claims to be a cheating now deceased, liquidated club?
So the contract of Carlos Pena has been terminated . Did he resign in his sleep , was it by mutual agreement with a pay off or did his contract end up in the Ibrox paper shredder along with all those EBT's . A Warburton resignation is unlikely , a pay off would be expensive and a shredder job means another court battle for the litigious Mr King . Cutting the wage bill ,kicking the can down the road and gambling in court looks odds on favourite to me.
I read somewhere yesterday , that Carlos Pena's agent hads lodged a £1.2 million claim against TRFC . Can't find the link , sorry.
Another tax dodger agrees on a prison term (but won't have to go to jail) with the Spanish authorities.
"Referee Committee
Chair: Willie Young
Vice Chair: Steve Brown (St. Johnstone), David Reid (Stenhousemuir)
Members: Iain Brines, Kenny Clark, Martin Cryans, Alan Freeland, Ian Fyfe, Calum Murray, Brian Winter
https://www.scottishfa.co.uk/scottish-fa/organisation/strategy-structure/who-we-are/board-committees/
========================
The above populate The Referee Committee, which amongst other things decides on promotions / demotions of Category 1 referees.
[And this detail was not easy to find on the SFA website.]
So, purely based on all the negativity / suspicions / aspersions / derision directed towards refs this season – so far – you would reasonably expect The Chair, Willie Young to fall on his sword: to take responsibility and to buy time for the Referee Committee to develop a new strategy to deal with all the flak coming their way.
…you would think…
By Gavin McCafferty, Press Association Sport | 1h
"A Rangers statement read: "We can confirm that Carlos Pena is no longer a Rangers player. His contract has been terminated. We wish him the best for his future."
Manager Steven Gerrard added in a media conference: "This decision has been made above me by the board. Certain things happen at a club that are above a manager's head. The decisions's been made by Dave King and the board and I respect it, and we move on."
How they love the concept of 'moving on'!
Pena has been linked with a move to Polish second-tier side GKS Tychy.
The Sun tweeting today that TRFC's Barisic socialises with Celtic's Simunovic and Benkovic and that on a Sunday they attend Catholic mass together. Obviously, that sort of reporting, hoping to cause outrage, is pathetic, but it sums up our SMSM desperate to stir things between the fans, so they can benefit from it. To be fair, most of the posters on the Bears Den thread on it say they don't care and I'm not sure if the OP has done it to laugh at the Sun or is indeed outraged. I had to laugh, though, because there's always one…."It's not like he's an Irish Catholic – he 100% doesn't give a shit about the hatred between Irish/Scottish Catholics/Protestants."
StevieBC 5th February 2019 at 14:43
How many masons in that mob ? Answers on a postcard .
Well, PM, as we recently found out, there is actually a "Diversity & Inclusion Department" at the SFA.
No really: I've got the e-mail to prove it!
So, I would presume that this department's remit – under the SFA umbrella – extends to referees. Obviously.
Therefore, I'm quietly confident that the Referee Committee – just like the Category 1 refs themselves – reflects the full diversity of the Scottish football playing and supporting population.
Shouldn't drink in the afternoon…
Shock news of the day ……………………….. not!
STV SportVerified account @STVSport
Rangers forward Jermain Defoe will not face an SFA diving charge after the compliance officer ruled there was insufficient evidence.
'StevieBC 5th February 2019 at 16:02
Well, PM, as we recently found out, there is actually a "Diversity & Inclusion Department" at the SFA.
No really: I've got the e-mail to prove it!
So, I would presume that this department's remit – under the SFA umbrella – extends to referees. Obviously.
Therefore, I'm quietly confident that the Referee Committee – just like the Category 1 refs themselves – reflects the full diversity of the Scottish football playing and supporting population.'
Stevie, may I refer you to the list of referees for 2018/19, which is part of the SFA Handbook. It starts at page 40:
https://www.scottishfa.co.uk/media/3998/scottish-fa-handbook-18_19.pdf
There's only a handful of names listed that aren't 'British' in origin: there's a couple of Eastern European names & a couple of Italian ones. I don't see any Asian names listed. I know that it's not empirical (and very politically-incorrect to assume one's background from their name), but looking at the names it appears the SFA's match officials aren't actually very diverse.
easyJambo 5th February 2019 at 12:36 Craig Levein has a solution to the penalty controversy. https://twitter.com/i/status/1092750642509217792
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Love or loath our Craig's acerbic wit, you've got to admit that made you all smile
Should anyone really be surprised Defoe won't be cited for diving? Two of his team mates have been allowed to kick, elbow and stamp on opponents this season with full video evidence, and all with the blessing of the SFA.
Jingojimsie@17.06
The list didn’t include Mason Boyne. Honest mistake probably.
Gordon Dalziel and Keith Jackson in full defence mode this evening. Supporting Stevie Gerrard and continuing the deflection away from the referees.
x Ludo 5th February 2019 at 18:19
Gordon Dalziel and Keith Jackson in full defence mode this evening. Supporting Stevie Gerrard and continuing the deflection away from the referees.
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Michael Stewart last night accused the SFA of 'revisionism' after their mouthpiece Darryl Broadfoot claimed on Sportsound that the 4th penalty at Ibrox last Saturday was also given by the Assistant. Interestingly this is now also being peddled by Gordon Dalziel. Stewart made a compelling case for the award being made by Dallas, not the Assistant, and it's not as if the SFA don't have previous for creating lies about penalty incidents, then conspiring to maintain the lie. It's almost as if the media are prepared to put up with anything in the hope Rangers win the league. They are certainly turning their guns on Steve Clarke big style. Imagine a Manager looking for fair and equal treatment – isn't that just shocking!
UTH@18.50
They need to tread carefully involving the linesmen. The last time Mr MacDonald lost his position.
https://twitter.com/skynews/status/1092747754881929216?s=21
The above link is way off topic but it’s John Barnes again calling out racism and media spin on Skynews.
Not sure if it's a bigger farce than the SFA's stance on the poor standard of their referees, but the SPFL's conduct in mismanaging their Challenge Cup tournament hasn’t (I think) been mentioned here.
Doncaster’s organisation appears to think everything is now fine with East Fife getting a free run into the semi-final, for a Friday night game, away in Dingwall. What a reward!
Some Methil fans made two trips to Dublin for the match which never took place, and certainly a relatively large following was in the capital on Saturday when their game with Bohemians was called off minutes before kick-off. Besides the cash spent by the supporters for no end product, the club themselves are also out of pocket due to the tie, which never happened, being across the Irish Sea due to the inclusion of clubs from other leagues.
Other clubs also lost out when drawn against colt sides, which have minimal to nil attraction to lower league fans, as underlined by the gates who have turned up for such games.
The general feeling I can gauge is that generally, an away trip to Wales, England and Ireland is welcomed as a novelty by supporters, while any match against colt sides are loathed.
But the clubs themselves want ties with teams close by, as the tournament is a money drain in general. Not that Doncaster cares, he didn’t even bother checking the span of the League of Ireland season.
Ex Ludo 5th February 2019 at 12:39
Speaking of statements, a very short statement on the t’Rangers official website informs the reader that Carlos Peña is no longer a t’Rangers player. Weirdly, if the reader scrolls down the page then there is an article keeping fans up to date with on loan players development. Yes, you’ve guessed it, Señor Peña is there too. To be fair the article is dated February 2018. What’s the name of the IT guy again?
……………
He should get on the phone to Warburton.
Stevie at IT if i remember correctly.
Speaking of Warburton i see he is part of a bolton-wanderers-takeover. https://www.burndenaces.co.uk/2019/02/02/bolton-wanderers-takeover-close-to-completion.html
Allyjambo
I watched Paul Larkin's 'Anyone But Celtic' yesterday and even making allowance for his undenied bias, it's quite an eye-opener. Not just because of – what should I call it – the lack of top grade Catholic referees, but the preponderance of freemasons and number of top grade referees drawn from the county of Lanarkshire.
Quite simply, it would be impossible for the imbalance to exist without deliberate and unashamed bias.
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This 'Anyone But Celtic' by Paul Larkin as mentioned is an eye opener. Now the idea that nearly all our grade 1 refs come from Lanarkshire Referee Association is astounding and the lack of Catholic top grade referees is quite astonishing. Freemasonary is rife in our game IMO and is certainly throughout our Lanarkshire Referees Association it cerainly exists. For one of our former referees to openly state that he knew of no Celtic supporting grade 1 refs is in itself pretty alarming. Why cannot refs openly state the team they have any alliegience to. Why does this issue never get addressed or even raised by our smsm or anybody for that matter. Hypothetical senario imagine most of our refs were recruited from East side of Glasgow and Coatbridge and none supportered Rangers and a large percent were members of The Knights of St Columbus and they turned in performances like Mr Beaton and Mr Dallas in favour of Celtic. This sounds absurd but this is how sickening how our game is possibly being refereed and nothing is being questioned. The old addage it evens itself out, honest mistakes they are only human. This is not the answer and the smsm and SFA know it. Bias exists because all the conditions for it are met in this country. Dougie Dougie and Mr Dallas and his Pope email is just 2 examples of how things work in our game. Mr Butcher stated that he was the first RFC captain not to be a Freemason, really. Freemasonry is rife within the referees so the natural assumption is they will favour 1 team and no one will convince me otherwise.
easyJambo 5th February 2019 at 17:03
15 0 Rate This
Shock news of the day ……………………….. not!
STV SportVerified account @STVSport
Rangers forward Jermain Defoe will not face an SFA diving charge after the compliance officer ruled there was insufficient evidence.
………………
There was no Kiefer Diving Judges Score Card held up at Jermain Defoe’s freestyle attempt, hence insufficient evidence it was a dive.
https://www.kiefer.com/kiefer-diving-judges-score-card
From the IFAB Laws of the Game:
Simulation
An action which creates a wrong/false impression that something has occurred when it has not (see also deceive); committed by a player to gain an unfair advantage.
Deceive
Act to mislead/trick the referee into giving an incorrect decision/disciplinary sanction which benefits the deceiver and/or their team
Cautions for unsporting behaviour
There are different circumstances when a player must be cautioned for unsporting behaviour including if a player:
• attempts to deceive the referee e.g. by feigning injury or pretending to have been fouled (simulation)
===================
So we are led to believe that Defoe, by appearing to trip in the vicinity of a defender, neither simulated that he had been fouled nor sought to deceive the referee into awarding a penalty.
I would love to see Stevie Clarke instruct his players that, at their first corner in the game against Rangers, all their players in the box should make a run in the vicinity of a defender then fall over and jump straight back up, just to see the reaction of the referee and the Rangers players.
He could then say that all of his players had been practising falling down in the anticipation of contact, at training earlier in the week.
easyJambo 5th February 2019 at 20:59
You might find that his opposite number has beaten him to it .
easyJambo 5th February 2019 at 20:59
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I would love to see Stevie Clarke instruct his players after they score a goal against an ibrox side. All his players should make a run in the vicinity of a defender then fall over and jump straight back up, just to see the reaction of the referee and the Rangers players.
A goal celebration like that would get more media coverage outside scotland, and would have more people asking questions of the goal celebration meaning.And would have more eye’s after on certain games.
So the media are rallying round the Refs and Stevie Gerrard. Stevie Clarke meanwhile is being vilified. All rather predictable. I wonder what odds there will be on more than one penalty and at least one red card in the Killie v Rangers cup tie this weekend? Killie to be completely shafted by poor decisions is my forecast.
https://twitter.com/nareystoepoker/status/1092755546116108289?s=21
A summary of Señor Peña’s time in Scottish football courtesy of nareystoepoket.
From an article in today's 'The Australian' about the "Report of the Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry " (in Australia, of course), I read this little excerpt with approval, as being the kind of thing I'd wish to see one at least of our SMSM journalists being brave/truthful enough to write in relation to our Football Governance operators:
"Furthermore, the reality is that no amount of legislation or blackletter law can create integrity and honesty in people who are not innately so. For example,it is worth recalling that [one of the banks] is regarded by historians as having been a byword for integrity for integrity and as having been a massive force for economic and social good in Australia.
Yet now….it has so lost its moral compass that new leaders face a herculean task to rebuild confidence. It is hard to imagine anybody describing the [bank] of recent times as having been a force for good………
The restoration of trust is of vital importance and in the end it can be secured only by trustworthy people behaving in trustworthy ways. We need to start that journey sooner than later"
The Australian banks have been made to apologise to the Australian people, and perhaps the banking system will find the honest people it needs.
There has not been any hint of an apology to us from the Football Governors , just a stiff-jawed refusal to admit their deceit and a stubborn resistance to any notion of , for example, independent examination of just what dirty business was involved in the 'Res 12' issue, let alone any move to abrogate the 5-Way agreement, and restore sporting meaning and trust in the sport of professional football in Scotland.
( The article is by John Anderson ” They took more than cash-They stole our trust’, in today’s ‘The Australian’
What is clear;
What is unclear;
Who is actually co-ordinating this determined defence – and PR counter attack – in support of Scottish Refs?
Is it coming from Hampden…or Ibrox.
Or is it a joint effort, mibbees based on a handshake?
Two polarised positions dividing Scottish football.
As ever, the perennial root cause of all this unrest stems from 1 senior club.
Whilst the other 41 clubs piss about, wringing their hands, as per.
And the paying punters' opinions, as ever, are ignored by the SFA and are left to watch, frustrated from the side lines.
Re the Defoe 'diving' / penalty I thought I would look back at some of Jamie Walker's diving incidents in terms of a bit of Whataboutery and refereeing consistency.
Exhibit 1: Walker booked for diving at Ibrox, Beaton 5 yds away with a clear view.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIzrltaLHV4
My opinion: obvious foul, wrong decision.
Exhibit 2: Walker given penalty v Celtic at Tynie, Beaton 15 yds away with obscured view (see frame at 33 secs) Linesman makes no indication of a foul.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRC0L8suV_s
My opinion: Ref unsighted so can't be sure, linesman says nothing, wrong decision – just play on .
Exhibit 3 : Walker v Hibs, anticipates contact (17 secs), a la Defoe, goes down and gets booked by Mclean.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lM-0fJ_A_pY
My opinion: No difference from Defoe so should it have been a Penalty?
StevieBC 6th February 2019 at 09:20
"What is clear; on one side you have TRFC, Steven Gerrard and assorted ex-RFC/TRFC talking heads, ex-SFA employees and ex-refs claiming that there isn't really a problem with Category 1 refs. on the other side, pretty much everyone else who doesn't have a TRFC or SFA connection and who believe that there really is a problem. A rather big problem with the standard of refereeing".
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I think it is also clear Stevie, that pumping Sevco in every competition will ultimately provide it's own self-cleansing mechanism. Bury them so deep no tribute act can ever emerge from the tomb….Let them spend themselves into oblivion again……Winning nothing, and early cup KO's, and they are not long for life at the coal-face.
Then the SFA will have nobody to hide behind.
TBH it's not my preferred outcome, but it may be the only route possible to an honest game.
wottpi 6th February 2019 at 10:28
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Whatever the rights and wrongs of the penalty decisions, after watching the video evidence I've come to the conclusion that Jamie Walker is a very dishonest person who needs to have a word with himself.
With regard to the current referee bias crisis it is so talked about now because evidence of poor decisions and outright bias are all over social media. The PR job the SFA/MSM have deployed to counter it is a weak obfuscation campaign to deny what is blatantly obvious. It won't work because it treats us as idiots and not all of us are.
There has to be a complete clear out of refs and if that means importing refs from overseas until the rebuilding of trust and integrity has been achieved by recruiting more widely in Scotland and introducing transparency as regards what team they support and why they make certain decisions then so be it. I'm all for Auldheids suggestion to remove refs from the direct control of the SFA and have them provide an independent service.
Bogs Dollox @ 13.30
A timely reminder of Auldheid’s plan for referees. It was interesting that in amongst the deflection and attempts to justify poor decisions from the weekend nothing was suggested that might improve matters other than the feeble mantra that all was fundamentally well and some time in lesser games in lower divisions would improve referees performance. That’s a bit like saying that if you spend a few weekends climbing up and down Arthur’s Seat it will prepare you for your ascent of the Eiger.
Bogs Dollox 6th February 2019 at 13:30
Jamie Walker won't be the first or last quick winger type player who is keen to drop when in full flight.
I'm all for players staying on their feet and actually liked that Defoe appeared to bounce back up as if ready to play on regardless rather than claim for a penalty or roll about as if shot.
The fact that some go down with minimal contact does my nut.
However, some players are always going to have a dive now and again, the issue is with Dallas being quick with the whistle and the general inconsistency of how such incidents are refereed.
Tonight's Aberdeen v. TRFC game has the makings of a cracking game. No love lost between both clubs. No quarter game, and both teams committed to get a win.
So, what happens if the ref Madden gives a soft – or simply wrong – penalty to the visitors?
What about 2 soft penalties to the visitors? [etc…]
What about a dodgy sending off of an Aberdeen player?
Or, a confusingly disallowed Aberdeen goal?
Scottish fans, IMO, are primed now to dissect any and every referee howler.
We expect more howlers, especially where TRFC is involved.
That is where we are now.
The SFA has done NOTHING to defuse the situation.
Nobody regarded the 'summit' last month seriously.
Nothing has changed.
It's a pressure cooker scenario, and the idiots at Hampden are repeating their typical stance: nothing to see here, whilst they strain their necks to look the other way.
Payback might come in an unexpected manner, and where the SFA has zero control.
wottpi 6th February 2019 at 14:33
I think the problem with Dallas is that he doesn't have the gravitas to referee at the top level , as the only reason he is being given the opportunity is that he's his father's son , and everybody knows that's the case .
Paddymalarkey @15.10
Nepotism seems to be the order of the day. I reminded of a story told be Michael Parkinson on his BBC show. He was watching a game between Leeds and Barnsley and it so happened that the goalkeepers in either goal were brothers. In the first half one brother kicked the ball all the way to his brother, who then reciprocated. This happened 3 times before one of the crowd shouted out (in a Yorkshire accent) “ That’s sheer bloody nepotism, that’s what it is!”
wottpi 6th February 2019 at 14:33
Bogs Dollox 6th February 2019 at 13:30
Jamie Walker won't be the first or last quick winger type player who is keen to drop when in full flight.
I'm all for players staying on their feet and actually liked that Defoe appeared to bounce back up as if ready to play on regardless rather than claim for a penalty or roll about as if shot.
The fact that some go down with minimal contact does my nut.
However, some players are always going to have a dive now and again, the issue is with Dallas being quick with the whistle and the general inconsistency of how such incidents are refereed.
================================
It's simply cheating.
We are told by pundits that a player "anticipates contact", or in other words he is ready to fall over the moment there is any contact, no matter how insignificant.
When that opportunity to make contact does not materialise, what does the player do? Does he stay on his feet? No! He falls over as if he has been fouled. For what purpose, if not to gain an advantage for his team?
It does not matter that he gets up immediately and doesn't appeal. In Defoe's case at least three Rangers players do appeal, as does the overwhelming majority of the crowd. The referee's mind is made up and a penalty is awarded, simply because the referee has been conned by the player's fall.
If, as we have been assured by yet more pundits, Defoe said he didn't dive, then he either believes that he was fouled or that he knows that he went to ground for no reason other to gain an advantage for his side. If it is the latter, then he cheated, plain and simple.
VAR will help get more decisions right (perhaps depending on the allegiances of the VAR officials), but it doesn't stop the cheating. The easier way to deal with it is for a red card to be shown to divers in the penalty area. Just as defenders are shown a red card for denying a goal scoring opportunity, then divers should be shown a red card for attempting to create a goal scoring opportunity (penalty).
More draconian measures of points penalties could be used if sanctioning the individual players doesn't change habits.
Cluster One 4th February 2019 at 18:50
"It is as if the SFA's mantra is if it is broken and we don't know how to fix it, then leave it alone and hope it goes away and will fix itself".
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That could potentially be said about Scotland's failure to qualify for countless International Tournaments in recent decades.
Not! however for the refereeing debacle. It's not broken, it only appears so. It is in fact, working perfectly, as designed. Unfortunately Celtic's dominance remains despite the SFA and their High Heid Yins, doing everything they can to arrest it.
A "Rangers"-facing SFA, appointing a "Rangers" Fan, to appoint "Rangers" fans to the top level of Scottish refereeing. Add to that Rangers fans subversion of the joke that is "compliance" and "disciplinary process", with a Rangers-friendly media for scrutiny.
Nope, it ain't broken at all….
The only thing "broken" is the backbones of the hierarchy running the other clubs in Scotland…
I must have missed the memo that states that it's only a penalty if someone claims for it . Takes the decision out of the referee's hands . Claiming for a penalty should be a bookable offence , same as asking for an opponent to be booked , regardless of whether one is awarded or not .
easyJambo 6th February 2019 at 16:21
I agree that going down with no or minimal contact it is cheating but sometimes, such as another clip of Walker v Dundee Utd (with Walker heading for a sandwich) a wee speedster sees a hulking defender ready to take his legs from him, only for said defender to pull his tackle or stop short by inches from cutting across the player at the last split second.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-eU7u54p1zg
So what is the speedster to do, when running at full pelt, simply take the hit and risk injury so as to convince the ref he was in danger.
In the above video Walkers arm throwing theatrics don't help his cause but I believe my point still stands.
I am all for saying it still should be the 'mans game' of old but the modern player is a bit more fine tuned and delicate than those that went before them.
In some cases it is not going to be clear cut.
Watched the AFC V TRFC game in a hostelry surrounded by bears.
Highly entertaining game if not technically appealing.
Was most impressed with ref for sending off both players: both as bad as each other.
But inconsistency…
MacGregor should have had a straight red: all day long.
Anyone who has suffered a leg break playing footy would have felt that studs up, high foot – which was just nasty.
How did the ref AND linesman miss that? Where is the player protection?
TRFC were good for the win though and Defoe's finish was clinical.
Interesting aside: when TRFC was awarded a penalty, there was a collective, joking shout of "Conspiracy!"
StevieBC 6th February 2019 at 22:01
Interesting aside: when TRFC was awarded a penalty, there was a collective, joking shout of "Conspiracy!"
===============================
They obviously missed the offside before the handball.
I watched bit of Superbowl the other day, and not for the first time wondered at what seems to be an elaborate 'refereeing' system, involving 7 officials, each with differing functions.
In an idle moment this morning ( grandweans at school, son at work, wife and daughter-in-law in town) and me wi' ma airm in a sling, I've been scouting around on the web looking at how the NFL recruits its umpires.
I came across this article, touching on the use of professional salaried umpires.
https://www.theduel.com/posts/6278710-nfl-referee-salaries-shockingly-high-considering-how-bad-they-are
I also ,on another site, learned that the average age of senior NFL umpires/referees is 51!
Curious.
Been scanning the online papers looking for a photo of McGregor's attempt at breaking another player's leg.
Can't find one, [don't know if one is in a print edition].
There is actually a separate article in The Sun where Willie Miller discusses that tackle alone: the only photo included is one of the keeper on the ground at another point in the match.
In The DR they seem to have gone overboard with a separate photo gallery of the game with 36 – yes, thirty-six – separate photos of the game's incidents.
…but not one photo of McGregor's studs up, high foot.
A cynic might think that there is a concerted effort to ensure the TRFC keeper doesn't get cited by the Compliance Officer.
Is it a coincidence that he is – arguably – their best, if not most consistent player?
StevieBC 7th February 2019 at 09:08
Is it a coincidence that he is – arguably – their best, if not most consistent player?
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There is one side of his game where he is most definitely their most consistent player, and it's got nothing to do with his ability as a sportsman.
StevieBC 7th February 2019 at 09:08
"Curious. Been scanning the online papers looking for a photo of McGregor's attempt at breaking another player's leg. Can't find one, [don't know if one is in a print edition].
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Here is a link to it in HD super slo-mo Stevie.
https://twitter.com/FRANNYBRENNAN1/status/1093272658383388672
Thanks for that CO.
Looks worse every time it's viewed.
Ref and linesman missed it: Compliance Officer it is then.
McGregor just doesn't give a sh!t about other players' safety – or livelihoods.
If that isn't a prime example of dangerous play, then I don't know what is…
Pure Whataboutery again.
Hearts have suffered this season from losing two goals where, in my opinion, Rangers players have been in offside positions at the 18 yards line when the ball has been forwarded from a free kick.
Last night Aberdeen suffered something similar with Goldson being offside as the free kick was taken prior to a penalty being awarded for handball resulting from the ball coming off the Rangers' player's head.
(Like Levein's 20 Yard box quip the men in blue seem to be allowed a yard start at free kicks)
Meanwhile down at Tynecastle last night Naismith has his goal chalked off for being in the same 'nip & tuck' offside position.
I'd say Naismith was just offside in a similar fashion to those situations when Rangers players have been deemed on. So it was probably the correct decision. However I am still awaiting for these types of decisions to balance themselves out!!
'StevieBC 7th February 2019 at 10:48
Thanks for that CO.
Looks worse every time it's viewed.
Ref and linesman missed it: Compliance Officer it is then.
McGregor just doesn't give a sh!t about other players' safety – or livelihoods.
If that isn't a prime example of dangerous play, then I don't know what is…'
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Did they miss it, though?
Scottish football is now at the stage where the ref can state he saw the incident, but thought there was nothing in it & no action required (the Beaton Position, if you like!). Will the Compliance Officer then proceed with a notice of Complaint?
BTW, I'm half-minded to think that the award of a penalty to AFC in the first few minutes of the second-half was an 'even-up' job after the officials saw their two errors leading to the TRFC spot-kick on Sky at half-time…