ANOTHER DERBY, ANOTHER RANGERS REFEREE TANTRUM
- BY LIAM CARRIGAN
- 11 hours ago
- 4 min read
It’s a good day to be a Celtic supporter today. We haven’t had too many of those recently, but yesterday’s win over the Artists Formerly Known as Rangers has everyone in a good mood this fine Monday morning.
Except of course for our dear friends over at Snake Mountain.
Yes, it seems another unexpected defeat (for them), has brought out the very reaction that I think we, the Celtic support, all expected from them.
Callum McGregor’s magnificent strike, sandwiched between a Johnny Kenny header and a first ever senior goal for Callum Osmand apparently contributed in no way whatsoever to Sevco’s latest skelping.
As usual, it’s always someone else’s fault...
The Latest Rangers Referee Tantrum is Replete with Hyperbolae, Selective Memory, and a Healthy Dose of Plain Stupidity
If there’s one thing we know for sure, its that whenever the team hailing from Mordor lose, especially to us, a Rangers Referee Tantrum is never far behind.
Such is the case once again today.
I honestly think there’s a psychology thesis waiting to be written on the cocktail of cognitive dissonance, willful ignorance, and at times full on detachment from reality that you see playing out almost in real-time among Rangers supporters when they lose a game that, in their eternal arrogance, they expected to win, and win well.
First of all, there’s the red-card of Thelo Aasgaard.
Incidentally, does anyone else find it a bit weird that Aasgaard and Greta Thunberg have never been seen in the same place at the same time?
Anyway, I digress.
Aasgaard’s waist high challenge on Tony Ralston was a moment of sheer stupidity. To any reasonable mind, it was an obvious red card. Unfortunately, we aren’t talking about reasonable minds when it comes to Rangers or their cheerleaders in the press.
“He was going for the ball!”
“He tried to pull out!” (Too bad his father didn’t.)
These are just some of the justifications I’ve seen being peddled on the various Rangers fan media outlets.
As usual, in the hours after we’ve given them a good scudding, these forums have been absolute comedy gold.
However, the absolute masterclass of mad, mental, impotent outrage was reserved for Auston Trusty. The big American turned in his second solid performance in a week after being brought in from the cold by Martin O’Neill.
However, it’s his clash with Rangers’ goalkeeper Jack Butland towards the end of the first half that is the proverbial “talk of the town” online this morning.
Now, Trusty got a yellow card, and I think that’s justified. There was clearly no malice intended, but he went for a ball that the goalkeeper already had under control. It was careless, and the player himself immediately acknowledged that and apologized.
Again though, intent and swift apologies are irrelevant to whether or not a card is warranted.
For me, it’s a yellow card, but we can consider ourselves somewhat fortunate. I have seen scenarios where a referee would give a red card in that situation. It would be harsh, but not out with the letter of the law.
On a day when Nick Walsh got very few things right, this was one a handful of his decisions that I think were spot on.
However, reading the Rangers fans responses to this, you’d think Ibrox had just been hit by a nuclear strike.
“He kicked Butland in the head!”
“How come our player makes a careless tackle and it’s a straight red, yet one of them carries out a vicious assault on our goalkeeper and it’s only a yellow?”
And then the hyperbolics reach fever pitch with this little ditty: “It was blatant, violent conduct. F*cking GBH! Jack Butland could have been seriously injured!”
That’s the impotent rage of Rangers Fans’ “logic” for you. From an accidental coming together of players, to aggravated assault, to attempted murder in the space of 3 comments.
And they wonder why we laugh at them.
Of course, their midfielders being allowed to foul with impunity for most of the afternoon, and the awarding of a penalty so dodgy even Del Boy Trotter wouldn’t dare to try and flog it, barely warrants a mention.
But the minute one Celtic player goes in slightly late on their goalkeeper, the Ibrox denizens are on the verge of demanding that Columbo and Taggart are drafted in to investigate this vicious crime. Sadly, Mark McManus and Peter Falk, much like the original Rangers, are no longer with us, so that’s not going to happen.
They say you shouldn’t mock the afflicted, but I must confess, I did have a wee response to one of them, posting on social media this morning. He said: “If Rangers don’t get a satisfactory response to this from the SFA, it’s war!”
Suffice to say my reply of: “You’ll have a hard time getting a job in the shipyards these days mate!” did not go down to well...
