CELTIC RED CARD CALL PART OF A WIDER PATTERN
- BY LIAM CARRIGAN
- 1 hour ago
- 3 min read
We watched yesterday as the SFA rolled out its latest move in their ongoing efforts to stop Celtic at all costs.
As you saw, Celtic were 2-1 up despite not playing all that well, and to give Hearts their due, they made the most of their advantage when it comes to set-piece plays. Kind of ironic in a game where Celtic scored their first competitive free kick goal in over a year.
Anyway, whilst the main point of contention will be Auston Trusty’s red card decision, the truth is that, once Celtic went ahead, there was a noticeable and immediate change of tone in the referee’s approach to the game.
Celtic Red Card Wasn’t a One-Off, It was a Culmination
Our friends over at Born Celtic highlighted the understandable fan anger at the ridiculous decision to send off Trusty thanks to the intervention of well-known Rangers fan John Beaton.
However, I think it’s important to look at the wider context of the build up to this.
I’ll be diplomatic and say that the referee was allowing some “rather robust” challenges, mostly from Hearts players to go unchallenged. It was a combative game, and taking a longer-term view, I think it speaks to Hearts’ flagging confidence that they chose from kick-off yesterday to try and outmuscle Celtic rather than outplay them.
In principle, there’s nothing wrong with the notion of “letting the game flow”. But it needs to be consistent. No doubt the media today will be awash with words like “tough”, “combative” and the aforementioned “robust” in defense of Hearts’ cynical attempts to hamper and even injure Celtic players at every opportunity.
Fast forward to the second half, and the immediate aftermath of Yang’s goal, set up brilliantly by a surging run from our new striker Tomas Cvancara.
Right from the kick-off our new striker then picks up a yellow card for having the audacity to let a Hearts player run into him.
This almost immediately necessitated a substitution. Cvancara didn’t look especially tired, and looked as if the assist had ignited what was, in the first half anyway, a performance full of endeavor, but lacking end product.
Martin O’Neill has been around long enough to know when the fix is in. It was clear that the referee was on a mission to find an excuse, any excuse, to red card Cvancara. So, we took him off, leaving the largely ineffectual Daizen Maeda to play up front.
Then, as if by magic, the referee’s approach and the notion of “letting the game flow” goes out the window. From that moment on, pretty much every time a Hearts player went to ground, they got a free-kick,
And then comes the Celtic red card. First of all, the referee reflexively brandishes the yellow card, without hesitation.
Then enter John Beaton, making the most of his power in the VAR role, to give his old mates at Ibrox a helping hand. Again, Celtic gave the referee an opportunity to go to the review, and as soon as he did, regardless of the reality of the situation, I knew it was going to be a red card.
Not only did the one-man reduction ensure Hearts eventually got their equalizer, it also means Celtic have another logistical headache going into our next league game, minus Auston Trusty, who has, overall, probably been our most consistent central defender of recent months.
However, if this turns out to force the hand of our belligerent board and we finally bring in a quality center-back this week, which we’ve been needing since last summer, the it could be a blessing in disguise.
I still believe Celtic will win this league. It’s not going to be easy though. Just look at the conduct yesterday of Hearts’ players and manager, the willful ignorance of the refereeing team, and don’t even get me started on the ongoing, desperate attempts in the media to manufacture a narrative that Celtic “have it easy” when it comes to refereeing decisions.
If we do end up winning this title, it’s going to be one of the sweetest in a very, very long time.