It's deja-vu all over again.

[Uilleam 5,459]

If memory serves, our referees lost the strike (a walk out unarguably engendered by that New Renaissance Man, Neil Lennon, and sellikfootballclub).

Failing to win an industrial dispute of that nature will generally make those defeated think long and hard about repeating the experience.

The success of Pinhead the Hand Puppet's false flag operation, flying in foreign referees, under, quite blatantly, false pretences, may help crystallise officials' thinking, although whether it would be as easy for the SFA to repeat the blacklegging operation is a matter for conjecture. A no. of the foreign officials were perturbed that the Scottish football authorities had lied to them about the reason that their services were required.

The gentlemen of the media, I need hardly add, behaved like the sellik lickspittles they are, which aided neither the officials' cause, nor the pursuit of truth, one whit.

 

At the moment, the League, unfortunately, is done, and even if the officials decided to withdraw their labour, the teams most likely to suffer are those fighting for promotion, or against relegation, and not the outfit responsible for alienating the referees in the first place. It is, therefore not, tactically, the optimum time to down tools, or whistles and flags for that matter. One rather hopes that the match officials will nurse their grievances, keeping them warm, hopefully red hot and furious, until competitions resume.

Next season will, I imagine, see the fhilth cock-a-rahoops with themselves; their hauteur, together with their sense of entitlement, and their control of parties within the Association, and the League, will result in further and increasing disenchantment among the officials.

It may prove to be an interesting season, off the field of play.

Edited April 28, 2017 by Uilleam

[26th of foot 5,841]

I am bumping this piece to add a nugget of information gleamed from BBC Radio Scotland on Saturday evening.

 

I am driving to a dinner engagement in Dunblane, it's five hours after the game and the shock of seeing Rangers concede five at Ibrox continues. It's the second half of the Cosgrove/Cowan show, but Stuart's dalliance in Sri Lanka moves into it's third week, and the truly awful Jane Lewis continues to fill in. The guests are Alex Rae and the Daily Mail's John McGarry. Now, as often said, the one mitigating factor in this show's 22 year history is that they ignore Chris McLaughlin completely. I believe he has been invited to appear on several occasions and refused. Chris is to be taken very seriously.

 

However, the show's topic was humiliation and the opprobrium was much deserved. I was surprised when Cowan read out a contribution from BBC Scotland's Chief Football reporter, Chris McLaughlin. He was reminding fellow happy hoopster, John McGarry of the humiliation meted out the day before, as the broadcasters had defeated the print football media, 6-2 in their annual game. Cowan took the in, and turned it into a discussion on Broonaldo's impunity. He asked McGarry to confirm the gossip from the gathering of thirty-odd fitba journos, that the panel judging Brown's lunge had reduced it to a caution, on a unanimous decision? McGarry stuttered but confirmed the word was, 'unanimous'.

 

Rae asked the make up of the panel, McGarry was uncomfortable and pleaded the fifth. Cowan cited a few similar assaults that might find favour retrospectively, and Jane Lewis was disbelieving of the unanimous verdict. I have always felt Cowan to be clever and I think this episode is quite a delicious example. McLaughlin does not want to participate but wants to be seen/heard contributing; no doubt due to his feeling of triumphalism. Cowan utilised his contribution to reveal something that Richard Gordon, Tom English, Chris McLaughlin, Pat Bonner, and Rob McLean had failed to inform the listenership, earlier in the day.

 

It's like the events of a decade past when the UEFA Observer's damning report on Villarreal saw the club hauled over the coals. We were told not to bother about finding out his/her identity, he/she was a genuine neutral and of unimpeachable integrity. Several years later, we find out the objective Observer was Alex O'henley. The Barra born and bred journo was the mainstay of the West Highland Free Press for a dozen years. A newspaper owned by Sellik Board member, Brian Wilson. O'Henley has been BBC Alba's football commentator since it's launch. There are journos in this country who are willing shills for ra Sellik, and other journos are either afraid or unwilling to out them and their actions. Well done Tam Cowan.

 

As stated in the OP, ra Sellik set out to deliberately humiliate Don Robertson, for the attention of others.

[scotjo 19]

I would hope that our referees took note. One club and one club alone was responsible for our officials going on strike. The newspapers only hinted at who caused it last time.

A referee sent Brown off for as clear a red card offence as you'll ever see. He appeals on a holiday weekend allowing him to play in the next match and then his appeal hearing decide the referee was wrong.

Hit the streets with your whistle and flags again guys - only this time NAME the club you're unhappy with.

What a good idea