Bill 13,717 Posted January 7 Share Posted January 7 It's only natural that discussion has focussed specifically on the use of VAR in the recent game at Parkhead and there are certainly no shortage of issues that at least require scrutiny. However, there's an extent to which VAR has become a distraction from what has always been the central issue with refereeing in Scottish football - the propensity of referees to act in favour of Celtic. None of the recent controversies involving VAR would or could have happened without the intervention of human officials. At the root of all of it is the unprovable but nonetheless real bias displayed time and again to assist Celtic. It's the sort of corruption that most reasonable people tend not to want to believe is real, preferring instead the more palatable option of incompetence to explain the absurd refereeing decisions we see so often. But after a lifetime watching the routine bias exhibited by match officials and those who run our game, I'm convinced the opaque oversight of the sport has bred a conscious willingness to interfere in the outcomes of games involving Rangers and Celtic. I will never forget the lead up to our UEFA Cup final in Manchester where the SPL contrived to deny us a league title and severely affected our chances in the UEFA cup final. That disgraceful episode may stand out but it was only one of many examples of what we know in our hearts is only too real. 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
compo 6,138 Posted January 7 Share Posted January 7 I can see a situation arising that if there is any chance of cup or league success in Scotland then referees are going to make sure it doesn’t happen . 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gonzo79 13,620 Posted January 7 Share Posted January 7 3 minutes ago, compo said: if there is any chance of cup or league success in Scotland then referees are going to make sure it doesn’t happen . That's the sort of thing I'd expect to hear from that lot. If we play well enough, we win matches, regardless of what the referees do. 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill 13,717 Posted January 7 Share Posted January 7 1 minute ago, Gonzo79 said: That's the sort of thing I'd expect to hear from that lot. If we play well enough, we win matches, regardless of what the referees do. What you seem to be saying is we should accept having to win matches despite referees. I don't think that's something we should so easily tolerate simply by raising comparison with another club. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gonzo79 13,620 Posted January 7 Share Posted January 7 15 minutes ago, Bill said: What you seem to be saying is we should accept having to win matches despite referees. No, we should fight them on and off the pitch. We didn't deserve anything in either of this season's derby matches because we played crap both times. I don't like making excuses for that. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graeme Ro55 649 Posted January 7 Share Posted January 7 28 minutes ago, Gonzo79 said: No, we should fight them on and off the pitch. We didn't deserve anything in either of this season's derby matches because we played crap both times. I don't like making excuses for that. I do agree with your sentiment, but usually when we play poorly yet still win folk would say that is the sign of a title winning side. The terrible reffereeing we witnessed at the last old firm game may have robbed us of one of those ugly wins that can help decide a league. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlackSocksRedTops 3,476 Posted January 7 Share Posted January 7 (edited) 48 minutes ago, Gonzo79 said: No, we should fight them on and off the pitch. We didn't deserve anything in either of this season's derby matches because we played crap both times. I don't like making excuses for that. I get that Gonzo but it's too easy to look at our "performance" in relation to the final outcome in these games. We've had 3 match altering decisions go against us in 3 OF games (Alfies goal, Roofes goal and a potential penalty). These would all have had a significant impact on the outcomes of these games IMO. Goals change games and all that. Edited January 7 by BlackSocksRedTops 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill 13,717 Posted January 7 Share Posted January 7 1 hour ago, Gonzo79 said: No, we should fight them on and off the pitch. We didn't deserve anything in either of this season's derby matches because we played crap both times. I don't like making excuses for that. So, we only deserve fair refereeing of our matches if we play well? I think you've lost the path somewhere. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gonzo79 13,620 Posted January 7 Share Posted January 7 I'd rather referees were unable to impact our results and I'd rather we didn't resort to blaming referees when we lose. Yes, there have been some questionable decisions but ultimately, our performances weren't good enough. Some of our support are turning into a mirror image of them. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlackSocksRedTops 3,476 Posted January 7 Share Posted January 7 13 minutes ago, Gonzo79 said: I'd rather referees were unable to impact our results and I'd rather we didn't resort to blaming referees when we lose. Yes, there have been some questionable decisions but ultimately, our performances weren't good enough. Some of our support are turning into a mirror image of them. Hardly. If Roofes goal stands (as it should have), our chances of not losing that game are reduced. Potentially, it could have given a shot of confidence to go on and score more (and play better). Saying that, Beale might still be here then...🤣🤣🤣 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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