A CELTIC SFA STATEMENT: WE DON’T DO COMPLAINING, BUT IF WE DID...
- BY LIAM CARRIGAN
- 4 minutes ago
- 4 min read
It’s almost comical now, when you look back at the number of tantrums that have come out of Ibrox in the 13 years since the new club formed.
Celtic have had similar gripes for decades, but we seldom air them publicly. In the rare event that something is so egregious that we have to take public action: Jim Farry and the SFA holding up Jorge Cadete’s transfer springs to mind, we are branded as “paranoid” and “always cheated, never defeated."
I just laugh now and say, we used to be paranoid, until we finally realized that everyone was, indeed, out to get us!
The harsh reality, as has once again been brought into sharp focus this week, is that Celtic simply weren’t paranoid, or pushy enough, in defending our corner.
There’s Probably More Justification for a Celtic SFA Statement Than a Rangers One This Week
I made the point on Tuesday’s ACSOM Bulletin, and it’s one that has only been further substantiated by events since, that Rangers and their fans suffer from a chronic and seemingly incurable superiority complex.
You see a similar pattern of behavior in various right wing political movements across the world. People who are so used to getting things their own way all the time, that even the slightest hint of equality feels to them like utterly intolerable oppression.
But please, humor me for a minute. Let’s just say that Celtic also let it be known that they “remain unsatisfied” with the performance of the referee and VAR officials on Sunday.
We have too much class to do so, but if we did, Celtic have, I’ll wager, a far longer list of complaints than the couple of issues Rangers might have.
So what would a Celtic SFA Statement look like?
First off, an acknowledgement. Auston Trusty could have been sent off for his clash with Jack Butland. It was accidental, and it didn’t cause any noticeable injury, but the fact is he went for a ball that wasn’t there to be pursued and he connected with the Rangers keeper in the process.
It would be a soft red card, but I’ll admit, if it was at the other end of the park, I’d probably be shouting for it.
Rangers second big gripe is that Tony Ralston should have received a second yellow card for the “handball” that led to the penalty kick.
For those Rangers fans who can read, and whose carers allow them to use the internet, I would suggest googling the “double jeopardy” rule. This recent rule change (I believe it came in a couple of years ago) means that the referee was perfectly within his rights to give a penalty but not send Ralston off. Controversial yes, but open to interpretation and not inconsistent with the rules.
Now, let’s move over to Celtic’s laundry list of potential complaints.
We had a perfectly good goal ruled out for offside. The only reason it was ruled out was because Daizen Maeda moves at a faster frame-rate than Scottish Football’s VAR system!
Then there is the crunching tackle on Johhny Kenny’s ankle, and subsequent follow through with the studs raised on his opposite foot by the Rangers defender Derek Cornelius. A straight red card. Not even a seriously debatable one in my opinion. Dangerous play, after the ball has gone, and with the potential to seriously injure the recipient of the challenge.
It doesn’t stop there. As I said before, when Rangers inevitably got “the penalty”, it was a seriously debatable call. Unless Tony Ralson is a part-time contortionist in his free time, I fail to see what else he could have done to get his arm out of the way, whilst falling face-first to the deck.
And then, finally, we have Mikey Moore’s late, off the ball, forearm smash on Reo Hatate. Again, the response from the referee was a Frank Drebin style “move along please, nothing to see here!”
Celtic could demand the removal of officials over this, a multitude of clear errors, but if I did, I think the media response would be far less sympathetic, with a great deal less manufactured outrage than has come from our press in support of Rangers over the last couple of days.
I mean let’s face it. Rangers have straight up accused referees of bias and preferential treatment towards another team.
Scotland’s referees infamously went on strike for far, far less inflammatory statements (statements which were later proven to be correct) by then Celtic manager Neil Lennon.
Rangers fans, in homage to another long dead institution, like to sing “Britannia Rules the Waves”.
Unfortunately, after throwing one temper tantrum too many, it seems, for them, Britannia no longer waives the rules...
