Embarrassing, against the rules and shameful

[ian1964 10,409]

hugh macdonald

Share

 

13 Apr 2011

 

THERE are moments when the Scottish Football Association just takes the breath away.

 

There was the one when a leading office-bearer described Celtic complaints as ââ?¬Å?tiresomeââ?¬Â when cases were under consideration. Two ââ?¬Å?tiresomeââ?¬Â complaints subsequently resulted in victory for Celtic, with Neil Lennonââ?¬â?¢s first ban for an incident at Tynecastle being deemed excessive by an independent hearing. His second ban was against the associationââ?¬â?¢s rules.

 

When a QC pointed this out, the SFA took the huff, complaining of having to spend money on their QC to defend the indefensible. A simple keek at the rule book might have saved them, and our national game, money.

 

Then we had the referee who gave Celtic a penalty, then rescinded it. Then lied to the match observer and to Neil Lennon. He was given a warning by an SFA committee before he had to be prised from his job.

 

Then there was the referee who gave Rangers a penalty in an Old Firm match while looking the other way. Then last night there was the official who, from 10 yards, watched as Michael Duberry, presumably believing he had been fouled, used both hands to control the ball on the ground. No penalty.

 

There have been other major instances of downright incompetence but all of the above may charitably ascribed to ââ?¬Å?the pressure of the gameââ?¬Â by sympathisers. After watching another referee give Rangers a penalty in a cup final then change his mind and book a player for diving without recourse to further evidence, my patience is exhausted. This referee ââ?¬â?? Craig Thomson ââ?¬â??incidentally gave Celtic a penalty in an Old Firm game; unfortunately this occurred 24 hours after the final whistle.

 

The decisions by the disciplinary committee of the SFA yesterday, though, are the high point of the season in terms of absurdity. They are the Monty Python sketch in the comedy that this nation�s football has become. They also fly in the face of the policy to support referees.

 

Whatever one�s view on yesterday�s deliberations, it was not a show of support for Calum Murray. One must wait for the ballot today when the referees, presumably enraged at the leniency of the sentences, take to the picket line. After all, Madjid Bougherra manhandled one of their members as he was about to book him. And then he did it again. Bougherra was fined and told not to do it again. Presumably, the naughty step was being used.

 

Another Rangers player, El-Hadji Diouf, bumped into the Celtic physio, had a slanging match with Lennon, who was banned for his behaviour, then would not leave the field when advised to do so by the referee. He then ignored the intervention of a police officer and threw his jersey into the crowd. He was warned and fined.

 

Lennon, who has served a ban for his part in incidents at Tynecastle and Celtic Park, was on the touchline last night. He watched as Iain Brines comically missed a penalty so obvious that the Celtic manager had to be forced into humour. ââ?¬Å?He just used the two hands,ââ?¬Â he said of Duberryââ?¬â?¢s intervention.

 

He was strictly serious when addressing the sentences imposed on two Rangers players for, as the charges had it, misconduct of a significantly serious nature and the clearing of his counterpart Ally McCoist for their confrontation.

 

ââ?¬Å?You have to write it. I canââ?¬â?¢t comment about a lot of things these days,ââ?¬Â said Lennon. ââ?¬Å?You have got to see it for what it is. If you have any media integrity, you will call it as it is.ââ?¬Â

 

It is embarrassing, contrary to the interests of the game and to the rule of match officials, and shameful.

 

We feel your pain shuggie:grin:

 

http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/spl/celtic/embarrassing-against-the-rules-and-shameful-1.1096025

[Frankie 8,145]

Only embarrassing thing is MacDonald's obvious lack of objectivity on the issue.

[metlika 0]

Only embarrassing thing is MacDonald's obvious lack of objectivity on the issue.

 

I was about to say who is this clown? Serious tim sympathiser.

[Bluedell 5,329]

Reminds me why I stopped buying the Herald many years ago.

[26th of foot 5,827]

Hugh MacDonald replaced ra Bhoy in Corduroy as ra Herald's Chief Sports Writer.

 

Previously, he was ra Herald's Literary Editor. In this designation, he had several columns in the various Herald Sports supplements. Where to begin?

 

He chastised BBC Scotland during ra Sellik's run to Suvul, claiming their coverage was inadequate. Hugh wanted a full dozen hours saturation coverage of each match; before, during, and after on both radio and TV. BBC Scotland's head honcho, McQuarrie wrote a several paragraph piece for the ra Herald's correspondence page, pointing out they had covered every game live on both radio and TV and MacDonald's demands were ridiculous.

 

Ridiculous and MacDonald are well aquainted bedfellows. He wrote of his attendance at St Mungo Academy, gathering in the school toilets on the days of Euro games at ra Piggery, to belt out rebel songs. He admitted to growing up in a household where neither his father, nor grandfather ever used the term, 'Rangers'! What term did they use? He declared the closing of Royston Road to hold a street party celebrating Wim Jansen's ending of ten-in-a-row as a, "legitimate expression of Irish identity". Hhhmm, one murder, one attempted murder, a rape, 106 arrests, the busiest night in the Royal's A and E for a generation, ................. etc. Aye Hugh, you are probably correct.

 

Even as Literary Editor, Hugh could not help himself. He penned a piece slaughtering Nick Hornby's 'Fever Pitch'; stating it did not reach the heights of a proper supporter's tome such as, 'Not Playing for Celtic' by David Bennie. I checked out said tome in my public library, it was published several years after Hornby's extraordinary book, in truth it read like a homage. Bennie is a prod' from Carntyne who decided to support ra green'n'grey, he had a close friend who was a priest, and a number of not very interesting skin afflictions. Believe me, that sypnopsis is over promoting the book. Thus, what was MacDonald's motivation for dammning Hornby?

 

I could go on, suffice to say like several others in the Scottish footballing media, Hugh is himself a former priest. Gerry McCulloch, Martin Hannan, Tom English, ..... et all. Truly, Hugh is just another bitter bastard.