[FT] Celtic 1 - 1 Rangers (Hill 87)

[der Berliner 3,292]

his misses were absolutely brutal.

 

Nah, make that super-excellent saves by the goalie!

[26th of foot 5,859]

 

The Green Brigade have become the monster many predicted.

 

All this olive drab uniform is derivative of early the seventies Provos. The balaclavas and dark classes are essential accessories. I believe they are receiving the necessary rewards too, several approving references in An Phoblacht(the provos newspaper).

 

Given that many of the members are privately educated schoolbhoys, I predict 'Provo Chic' will become de rigueur.

[ian1964 10,457]

Celtic should NOT have had a penalty against Rangers and ref Bobby Madden got it spot on - Richmond

 

Former whistleblower Charlie Richmond believes Madden was correct to wave play on as Clint Hill tussled with Leigh Griffiths in the penalty area.

 

Clint Hill told Brendan Rodgers he’d “got away with it” when Celtic’s last-gasp penalty claim was ignored.

 

But in reality the man who got lucky was referee Bobby Madden because video evidence shows he got the call right by the finest of margins.

 

It was not a penalty. I’ve studied the incident repeatedly, analysed it on freeze frame like a forensic examiner working a crime scene – and the evidence shows Hill did make contact with the ball before he crashed into Leigh Griffiths .

 

Only by a matter of millimetres, mind you. But the key thing here is contact, no matter how slight, was made and it was enough to deviate the path of the ball Griffiths was in the process of chasing down.

 

It doesn’t run straight through on its original direction – and that is the key factor that technically makes Hill’s challenge a fair one.

 

Strictly speaking the initial challenge should have been a free-kick just outside the box but Griffiths wriggled clear of that to bear down on goal before Hill went in for a second bite at the cherry.

 

The video shows the veteran defender sweeping across with the correct foot – his right – and he manages to get the slightest touch on the ball with his heel.

 

I know many, particularly Celtic fans, will argue he has gone through his man to get there but the important thing is Hill gets his touch of the ball before he hits Griffiths.

 

That’s what it all comes down to, that tiny margin. It’s a lucky decision for Bobby to get a good outcome but only just, from the kind of nightmare big-game scenario every referee dreads.

 

Everything happened in the last five minutes, the game swinging back Rangers’ way with the equaliser then Celtic go up the park and suddenly he’s faced with a massive decision.

 

He’ll be glad when he sits down to analyse the tapes for himself and sees his decision vindicated and I’m sure that will be a big relief because overall he can be proud of his Old Firm debut.

 

Practically everything Bobby did was spot on. He let the game settle down early on, keeping his cards in his pocket and just using gentle warnings to let players know what is expected of them.

 

Being pernickety he could have spoken to Kenny Miller for the way he rashly went into a lunge with both feet near Kieran Tierney . If he had made any contact with the player he’d have been straight off but I think Kenny realised that and pulled out the challenge to get out of the road. I’m sure Bobby was cautious of Scott Brown and Jason Holt tangling and had a wee word with them.

 

But it was 18 minutes before his card came out, textbook stuff in an Old Firm match. That’s the control point in the game when you let the players know how you’re going to referee the game.

 

It was a clear yellow card. Martyn Waghorn could have no complaints for crashing in late on Nir Bitton.

 

Danny Wilson’s caution after 31 minutes was another clear yellow. That was also good refereeing because Bobby let the advantage go first before he pulled up Wilson for his foul.

 

James Tavernier’s caution just before half-time for a needless foul on Brown was the right call too as was Hill’s after the break because you could clearly see Bobby put three fingers up to show it was for persistent fouling.

 

Moussa Dembele went down for a penalty which was rightly ignored because he just slipped and Brown’s 76th-minute caution was a clear decision too.

 

The only one where I’d disagree with Bobby was in 80 minutes when Holt went in with one of those wraparound tackles. He actually gets the ball with his left leg but his right leg wraps round the player at the same time – and that for me is a free-kick and a caution.

 

Ironically Mikael Lustig got cautioned for dissent over that decision.

 

By the time it gets to 83 minutes a referee just wants to manage the game through now as calmly as possible.

He’d be aware Rangers have picked up momentum but he’d also be cautious Celtic have the speed from middle to front to counter attack so it’s crucial to stay up with play.

 

The guys would be communicating on their radios urging each other to keep concentration high.

 

Come 87 minutes they needed every bit of that concentration as Hill scored amid hopeful claims by Craig Gordon for offside. Then comes the big talking point in the last minute.

 

And on this occasion Bobby has got the break with his decision. There’s an old saying that it’s better to be lucky than good – and Bobby has got away with it.

 

Yet people will still debate it and ask how can he see it from his position? Even with the benefit of video replays they will still argue the call.

 

But for me Bobby’s got it right. All in all it’s been a good Old Firm debut for Bobby that will raise his standing in Scottish refereeing.

 

He’ll be delighted to have come through that and if he keeps his momentum going you never know what he could pick up with regards to the Scottish Cup Final.

 

This summer he’ll go to Poland for the European Under-21 Championship and that will be another big opportunity to rise through the ranks to the elite levels in Europe.

 

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/celtic-should-not-penalty-against-10013119

[der Berliner 3,292]

Gordon complaining about Hill being off-side ... when he touched the ball to him? Of course, Boyata and another Yahoo played Hill onside and ... you could understand the protests if a veteran centre-half like Hill rushes in to score. For that is simply unreal

[JFK-1 1,677]

For me just as important as the point was that we didn't go there and steal a point. I think that overall given the chances we had and the performance of Gordon that they stole a point and if they were honest they know it. I have always felt that this team isn't as bad as some results might suggest but rather haven't played to their capabilities often enough. A good transfer window with a few good signings should take us clear of the chasing pack next term and make us a far more difficult opponent to wear down.

 

What's put us so far behind isn't so much the defeats to them as the defeats/draws to others that should never have happened. As soon as that can be resolved we can be competitive again title wise. I'm more than glad the new manager was in the stands watching yesterday which should have given him a clear idea of what's required to get this team back into a more fitting position.

 

As for their penalty screams that's an indication that they know we could/should have won this match. They were predicting a win by margins of anything up to 8-0 beforehand then at the end of the day fall back on a penalty claim that never was? Not a word from them regarding the fact they could have been down to 9 men after Broonaldo's elbowing and the Dembele diving and it's they who have complaints about the referee?

 

We came away from this with any credit that's going around not they and this arguably wasn't even our strongest team with two key players suspended and another two out with long term injuries.

Edited March 13, 2017 by JFK-1

[Scott7 5,252]

A tackle is not a sequence of freeze frames. The referee has to look at it as a whole. Getting a millimetre of a boot on the ball whilst in the next quarter second clattering the opponent doesn't mean it's not a foul.

[boabie 230]

Second class lying tramp and full time beggar, the fool JJ has this to say,

" Celtic were lacklustre yesterday. Had it not been for the reflexes and positioning of Craig Gordon, who denied Waghorn from close range on two occasions, their unbeaten run could have come to an end. However on the balance of play no-one, other than one-eyed blood-wading bigots, would have begrudged them the three points. A blood-wading one-eyed bigot saw to it that honours would be even when he denied Celtic’s Leigh Griffiths a penalty. Griffiths was about to pull the trigger on a close range shot. A shot that nine times out of ten would have resulted in a goal. Clint Hill, from behind, lunged at him, catching him waist-high, to deny him this opportunity. Hill did not touch the ball. It was as clear a penalty as you are ever likely to see. A professional foul that the assistant referee flagged. Bobby Madden, as I predicted on this site, is so dyed-in-the-wool pro-Rangers that he was never going to award Celtic a penalty. I predicted that he would cheat to subvert the result. I knew he would revert to WATP type for the big calls. He did not disappoint me."

 

He also quotes Griffiths,

" “It was a penalty. He has not touched the ball and the referee is asking me afterwards if he touched the ball. If he has not touched the ball he has got to give a penalty or book me for diving. I am going to put the ball in the back of the net. He has caught me at waist height, he has not touched the ball. It is a decision that cost us the three points. Bobby Madden is the only one in the stadium who doesn’t think it is a penalty but it is over now, we can’t dwell on it. It is another point towards the title.”

 

Is there anybody else in the whole wide world who's saying that Hill didn't touch the ball ? I'd reckon replays show he clearly did touch the ball. The whole debate was over Hill having to go through Griffiths to make that touch on the ball. To sum up, Griffiths is telling lies.

[JFK-1 1,677]

The ball-girl did look frustrated and hurled some nice abuse at Hill after he got up. Tolerance is educated early over there.

 

Looks suspiciously like the same face seen among the terrorist loving hordes on the terraces at some point.

 

 

Bottom left area.

 

[Oleg_Mcnoleg 50]

For me just as important as the point was that we didn't go there and steal a point. I think that overall given the chances we had and the performance of Gordon that they stole a point and if they were honest they know it. I have always felt that this team isn't as bad as some results might suggest but rather haven't played to their capabilities often enough. A good transfer window with a few good signings should take us clear of the chasing pack next term and make us a far more difficult opponent to wear down.

 

What's put us so far behind isn't so much the defeats to them as the defeats/draws to others that should never have happened. As soon as that can be resolved we can be competitive again title wise. I'm more than glad the new manager was in the stands watching yesterday which should have given him a clear idea of what's required to get this team back into a more fitting position.

 

As for their penalty screams that's an indication that they know we could/should have won this match. They were predicting a win by margins of anything up to 8-0 beforehand then at the end of the day fall back on a penalty claim that never was? Not a word from them regarding the fact they could have been down to 9 men after Broonaldo's elbowing and the Dembele diving and it's they who have complaints about the referee?

 

We came away from this with any credit that's going around not they and this arguably wasn't even our strongest team with two key players suspended and another two out with long term injuries.

 

Ewan Murray's write-up in the Grauniad predicted that the penalty claim would be used to deflect from a poor Celtic performance but that, in spite of their claims "The reality is this was not nearly as obvious a penalty as Celtic’s contingent would have onlookers believe". About the size of it in a game that didn't really have much serious controversy: I'd probably have been claiming for it if it had been us but the idea that it was some stonewaller is utter bollocks.

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2017/mar/12/celtic-rangers-scottish-premiership-match-report

[Uilleam 5,507]

That is one hideous looking set of fuckers, there. Don't tell me that this is a random selection of soapdodgers.

It must be a special pen for the most facially challenged brutes, with reduced prices perhaps.

The one with the mask must be like Joseph Merrick, if he has to hide his face.