Caesar's whores at the SFA

2nd 1st?

2nd?

Paul Shun

I am going to write to the SFA demanding a refund for my season ticket money as well as every away game i have attended this year

Their offical is directly influencing the outcome of the championship

I am not timing Paul's new articles very well.....

Whatever happens now, the team have done us proud over recent weeks. We were in a near impossible position 6 games ago, & their tenacity in refusing to surrender has been remarkable. One more push needed. After that it in the hands of the Gods, but I personally will be proud of them whatever the outcome.
On the subject of the Daily Record article.
While I think that McCurry was NOT an impartial arbiter in Saturday's game, I am at a loss to know what the relevance of his ' Nice goal, Nacho ' remark is supposed to be. Novo's goal was a lovely finish & I would like to think that, if I had been refereeing the game myself, I would have made a similar remark to ANYONE who had scored it.
This is a nit-picking remark, typical of this sad publication.

Paul,

How many articles is that you've just written. Well saying we're away from Blogger as that's about a weeks worth up there!!

Good day on Sunday.
Well done the Hoops. Pressure is on them and they will stumble!

Mucker
Sack them all!!!!!!!!!

"Caesar's whores", eh? I like it! ;)

Has there ever been a case in football where so many officials at so many levels so clearly favour one club? Would this be allowed anywhere else in a world that is laughing at us?

Good points about Peat, too. Now was Martin Bain referring to him when he said he would like people "who have been involved in football at this level" making the big decisions?

It was indeed a 2nd 1st

Get in there

The team have indeed, at last, done us proud this season

It was a long time coming but at least we now have players who will put everything into helping Celtic win

Take a bow Barry Robson

You are a new hero shun

Spot on Paul

The workings of the SFA last week should not be ignored.

It is incredible the amount of high ranking people in Scottish football who have a link to one particular club.

The Scottish manager seemed more annoyed last week about the refusal to extend the extension than he was when Rangers removed players from his 1st squad.

Im sure we have also been told this season that the Scottish Cup takes precedent over the SPL fixtures ie when the Rangers V East Stirling game was postponed and moved to the date of the Celtic V Rangers match in January. I also remember a Celtic V Motherwell match being moved in early 2000 because of this.

This doesn't seem to be the case when it suits Rangers to move - last weeks farce was down to one thing and one thing only - to help Rangers win the league!!!

Paul67:

Class mate, Class

Bet you don't get a single one of your questions answered any time too soon though.

But you asked the questions.

It's time for all 'Scottish Football' fans... to ask the questions.

I have a cunning plan...

We should ensure that the Fir Park pitch is unplayable for their game against Rangers (shouldn't take much doing). Then in the spirit of cooperation, offer Motherwell the use of our stadium for the match.

Then we turn up in full voice. The Celtic Park surface suits Motherwell better than the disaster they play on.

Any downside?

Keep fighting the good fight Paul, another top article. I hadn't realised all the previous between teams playing Rangers and the Reverend. Before this year I thought he was one of the better refs, just goes to show what I knew! The SFA however have always left us in no doubt that they are from top to bottom firmly anti-Celtic.

On a different subject. Have any of our bloggers from the North seen this story?

REAL OR FAKE?

More chance of the Reverend playing fair than there is of this being real!

Paul Shun

On the balance of probability, I think Mike McCurry is a cheat and he does favour Rangers

On the basis of the evidence we have all seen, he is a cheat

absolutely no doubt about it

Has he actually retired or has he just had his last Rangers game?

In other words is there a chance he cud ref our last game?
The corrupt cheat that he is

the fact the the cheat was given another hun game,considering his record,shows what you are up against.

everyone knew he would get the game and he duly came up with the goods.

he is a cheat and the SFA and SPL are just as guilty.

I see the Rev has tried to justify his biased decisions c/o http://www.scottishfa.co.uk/news.cfm?newsid=3948

RANGERS V DUNDEE UNITED

Monday, 12 May 2008

Referee Michael McCurry has today moved to explain the reasoning behind two of the decisions he took during this weekend’s match between Rangers and Dundee United at Ibrox.

“In the 55th minute of the match Rangers were in possession of the ball and attempted to clear it from their defensive area. As is normal practice, I started to run towards the half way line, anticipating the ball being cleared from defence. The clearance, however, was not successful and the ball struck Noel Hunt of Dundee United, who then played a very quick “one-two” allowing him to chase the ball into the penalty area closely followed by David Weir of Rangers.

“At this point, given the very quick change of the direction of play, I was caught out of position and my line of sight was partially obstructed by another player.

“I saw Noel Hunt fall to the ground with David Weir in close proximity behind him. As my vantage point was extremely poor it was not possible for me to say what or, if any, infringement had occurred.

“Given this significant doubt in my mind it would have been improper for me to simply conclude that an infringement had occurred on the opposite side of the field of play from me. On this basis, I had no option but to allow play to continue amidst the appeal for a penalty kick.

“I have now had the benefit of seeing the incident again on television. I believe that were it not for the fact that I had been caught out of position by the quick transfer of play I would have awarded Dundee United a penalty and would have cautioned the Rangers player David Weir. In my opinion there was another defender in close proximity with the possible opportunity to make a defensive challenge on the attacker.

“In the 71st minute Dundee United were in possession of the ball and Danny Swanson shot towards the Rangers goal from approximately 30-35 yards. The ball appeared to me to be deflected off a Rangers player and entered the goal.

“As I turned to award a goal to Dundee United it was brought to my attention that the stand side Assistant Referee had his flag raised signalling that an offside infringement had occurred. I also noticed that a Dundee United player required medical treatment.

“Having made sure that the player received the required treatment, I then went across to the Assistant Referee and confirmed that he was signalling for an offside infringement. He confirmed this was the case and informed me that a Dundee United player had been in an offside position and that he had played the ball prior to it entering the goal.

“I informed the Assistant Referee that it appeared to me that the ball was deflected off a Rangers player. The Assistant Referee told me that he had not seen it touch a Rangers player but had definitely seen it played by the Dundee United player, David Robertson. Given that David Robertson was behind the Rangers player, my view was such that I could not tell if the ball had been played by Mr Robertson last before entering the goal. Consequently, I decided to accept the advice of my Assistant Referee.

“Again, having had the opportunity to review the incident on television, it is clear to me that the ball is not played by the Dundee United player Robertson who was, however, technically in an offside position and was in close proximity to the ball.

“I can understand the difficulty faced by my assistant referee in this incident and why, David Robertson may have been considered offside.

“Again, with the benefit of seeing the incident again numerous times on television, I consider it would have been more appropriate to conclude that the player, David Robertson, was not involved in active play and would have allowed the goal to stand.”

Scottish FA Chief Executive Gordon Smith said:

"Everyone at the Scottish FA is hugely disappointed in the accusations that have been levelled at one of our match officials following the match at Ibrox on Saturday. To impinge on a man's integrity in this way is extremely unfair and does nothing to encourage more people to take up refereeing.

"Michael McCurry has been a top class referee for a number of years and has handled many a high profile, high pressure game. He has shown his own strength of character by being willing to be up front with his explanation of why he made these crucial decisions during the game.

"To suggest that there was any kind of agenda behind the decisions made on the day does a massive disservice to the game and, quite frankly, is completely unfair.

"Football is a game played by people and people can make mistakes. It is always frustrating when decisions go against you - but this has been a part of football since the game started. We rely on our referees to make decisions in a split second and without the benefit of countless replays. I think that it is extremely sad that an honest, dedicated professional has been treated in this way."

Stuart

No downside but there is as much chance of that happening as there is of McCurry awarding a penalty against Rangers.

When does Whistleblower get updated as I can't wait to read McCurry's reasons for his decisions on Saturday.

They wont like r******* much then!

...and Fraser Wishart is an honourable man.

Chris
shakeSpeareCSC

I wonder if Broadfoot will face 'trial by TV' for his assault on Noel Hunt? There is absolutely no way he should get away with that.

I no longer buy any papers but can anyone say if the papers have picked up on this?

This is the RST response to Dundee United.

Sub,
"and Fraser Wishart is an honourable man"

Aye Right!

fine post Paul!

strange thing is, the questions you pose re disclosure of the sfa involvement in the SPL extension issue are painstakingly obvious...have I missed something as I don't think I have seen them asked directly. Our media seems to be following the Setanta lead of not asking any direct or awkward questions to key people.

As the DR loses credibility by the day in its cosy "exclusive rights" relationship with Rangers, surely there is an opp for another media outlet to exploit the market which actually wants answers to these issues.

Lennondinho, go for it. McCurry has not retired. It doesn’t matter if he is a cheat or not, and I am always prepared to give anyone the benefit of the doubt, but he fails the Caesar’s wife test, so has to go.

Abmucker, I’ll quieten down next month.

One Star, the game in this country has descended into farce.

Kitalba, if I was at Queen of the South I would sure be looking for some answers.

FTHATS, agree.

Porridgeandbananas, cheers.

Paul/All,

who should be in the positions of power? Independent buisnessmen/women who are remote of all clubs? Surely anyone connected with any club (large or small) is open to doubt about impartiality?

G.

Forgot to add that the SPL is no longer a competition, particularly when people like McCurry are allowed to work within it

This has happened so many times when a league title is close

2003:
Kilmarnock V Celtic

Shaun Maloney receives a broken ankle from Alan Mahood in the 1st 10mins, straight red tackle from behind

Decision = Yellow

Rangers also awarded a soft penalty at the end of their game V Dunfermline

2005
Andy Davis linesman who awarded the penalty for rangers in the 93rd minute after the ref had already seen it and ruled on it

Motherwell V Celtic
Bellamy incorrectly ruled offside on 2 occasions with the score at 1-0 celtic

2008
where do u want me to start?
from the disgraceful penalty given to inverness (3-2 game) and an offside celtic goal in the same game

Mike McCury on saturday? = Disgraceful (Quote Craig Levein)

Re G Smiffs comment that the criticism " does nothing to encourage more people to take up refereeing"

balderdash and bunkum- what he is saying is that refs are above criticism. Bottom line is that the man is at best incompetant. If this stops dodgy refs coming through, then i whole heartedly support all criticism.

Of course Mccurrys comments do not seem to tie up with what he said to Mr Levein.

Paul he most certainly fails the test

and would also agree that even if he is not a cheat he should go

But he is certainly a cheat

why no explanation of the failiure to show a red to Cousin? if Mccurry spotted the incident at all which he clearly did as he happily booked both players ,then he would have clearly witnessed a player leading with his head and therefore should show an instant red, i don't know the SFA guidelines verbatim on the subject but I'm sure that it is a straight red card for this particular offence. if so , why no explanation?

of course again i feel frustrated by my own rhetoric but what is going to be done about this? at the very least due to all the hullabaloo surrounding Saturday's match the authorities should maybe be seen to be acting on it in any other manner other than poor poor Mike McCurry

that's Mike not Mick

Paul67:

can we no buy QOS this week?

Kitalba

Can you think of any reason why they single out Willo Flood as the butt of their hilarious back-pass simile?

It was a Mark Kerr back-pass that sold the jerseys in the CIS Cup Final, wasn't it?

Did Willo Flood make a similar mistake on Saturday? If so I missed it.

I mean, it couldn't possibly be anything to do with the guy's ethnic background, could it?

Afternoon all!

Great Article Paul, though I thought you may have held back a little ;-)

Kitalba, many thanks for the RST link, they are a wee bit paranoid are they not?! Great read through lunch though!!

cta!

Phew!! Quite an article from you, Paul..Can you see any action being taken against the likes of Peat and Smith? They are officials with a duty of care to all their members, while Burley really only has to consider the players chosen to represent Scotland. What about that other apologist for EU's mob, Fraser Whisart?

CELTIC FIRST

it was flood in the 3-3

Celtic_First

I never actually saw that game so I can't really, in honesty, answer your question.

But like you... I can hazard a guess. I'm sure we'd both be right.

And that's how they spell 'Dignity'.

Click the Ads!:

not as paranoid as we are though.

They are sad excuses.

mccurry is a cheat
no amount of back speak "should have given"
"appropriate" or any more of his lies makes any difference.
i have given this reptile the benefit of doubt on many occasions.
he is plain and simply a rangers supporter.
he favours rangers in every game he referees when they are involved.
the guy is a cheat. no other word can describe it.

G.(coverup)Smith and his Daily Record cronies adding
fuel to the fire to the most bigotted small country in the world.
its only football but when cheats are winning it takes on a whole new look.

I wonder why Alex Ferguson has felt the need to stick his (red) nose into the debate (Ferguson called the SPL decision outrageous). As Jinkyredstar pointed out yesterday, Man Utd would have had less time to prepare for Moscow if they had got to the English cup final.

Re George Peat, in any other organisation, his position would be untenable and he would have to go. Sadly, I do not see that happening because the rest of the blazers would probably have done the same thing. (Rule 1. SFA blazers must be worn over the apron and not beneath it). I suppose they might just vote for his removal because he failed in his mission and let them all down badly.

I think looking at Smith's comments that he is obviously involved in "Operation Win the League at all costs". You have to wonder how far this conspiracy goes. I realise everyone says we're paranoid but there have been more questionable decisions this season than any other I can remember. The list of those involved must be widespread from Moonbeams to SFA to Referees Supremo McVicar to Media etc etc. They will stop at nothing, and I would like to hope that something will be done. Surely the powers that be at Parkhead can do something because it's blatant cheating. McCurry's justification is an absolute joke.
If anyone knows anyone who could tap Murray's phones it would be a start!!

Celtic_First............

Willo Flood passed back at Tannadice and gifted the Rearrangers (I love that name) a goal..........but that does not invalidate your point.

With regard to Cousin, we have had three players sent off for similar.

Paul, you said The Cheat hadn`t retired, I was led to believe this was his last season, and that he had asked to officiate, sorry, cheat at his beloved stadium as a going away gift.
This country stinks.

'We have put the captain of the Titanic in charge of navigating big ships around icebergs.'

love the analogy

i think it's a good piece Paul67, one of the best i have read from you

but you're preaching to the converted here

i , probably like many on here am completely sickened by the goings on this season, but we should do something tangible about it

like lennoninho18 asking for his money back, take the fight to them

we shouldn't let them brush this under the carpet, the SFA is already trying to do that this morning

i have sent emails today to the SFA to complain about refereeing, and on saturday past to uefa to complain about continuing sectarian singing in govan, but unless its done in unison, it's fairly pointless

paul67
you have hit the net again!The only thing i disagree with is that its unfair to all clubs including Rangers ?

That club will take a win by anyway they can their dirty hands on and its been that way since we were formed

Dignity FC indeed

HAIL HAIL

Thanks for the posters who have explained the Willo Flood reference. I would withdraw my earlier remark if I were able.

Again, its gonna be impossible to prove anything on a corruption basis. Looking at McCurrys explanations, this will be portrayed more as bad decision making than dishonesty. The group mentioned in Pauls posts are a group of Rangers supporters in high profile positions doing something that is instinctive for them....helping the "teddy bears"

Remember when Smith was a broadcaster/pundit? He made Derek Johnstone look impartial.

Another media campaign which is gathering momentum is the knighthood for Wattie.

I wonder what the English media response would be if Capello walked out on the England job mid way through a campaign to take up the Man UTD job? The reaction would be the same in any other country - except Scotland.

hoof hearted minty moonbeams: The latest figures show a chasm opening up in sales between the Record and The Sun.

A few years ago, the Record was the dominant tabloid by far. There has never been a better time to put the squeeze on these people.

Celtic First

There would be no need to withdraw any remark you made. Why not a 'Mark Kerr' passback as that had a far bigger impact on Rangers, bringing them back from the dead in a Cup Final they were set to lose rather than the Willo Flood one which I think gave them a point in the League.

We know fine well why they said Willo Flood. They must have got bored with Noel Hunt after their disgraceful treatment of him on Saturday. I'm sure he would have been they first choice to ridicule.

Absolutely brilliant Paul. You put into words exactly what we are all thinking.
Yes this is a farce of a league. We MUST get out of this nut house. And we are called paranoid??

hoof hearted minty moonbeams: You need only look at how they behaved when Don Revie left to take a lucrative job abroad. He became a pariah.

RST statement is a disgrace. And they speak for their fans? Says it all realy.

McCurry's responses are laughable. Having viewed viewed the pentaly incident again in the light of his comments, it does appear that his view may have been partially obstructed. But the assistant on that side must have been able to see what happened as he had a clear view of the incident. So why didn't he flag for an infringement? And of McCurry had doubt in his mind as he says, who not ask the assistant? He made no effort to do so.

Having watched the goal again, both the referee and the assistant had perfectly clear views of who the ball struck. There is no doubt that it was Weir. McCurry says that he can understand why it was difficult for the assistant: I can't. The matter of who the ball struck is one of fact, not opinion. Why did McCurry decide to change his mind this time around?

To summarise what he said: I wasn't sure if it was a penalty so I didn't give one. On the goal: I thought it was a goal but the linesman didn't so I agreed with him.

Funny that both decisions went to the same side, isn't it Mike?

The SFA update is a joke, but then what did we expect!!!
Disgusted just reading it.

On Willo Flood from the RST site.
More than the Revs "Mistakes" on Saturday, I have never been more disgusted by a set of peoploe in this country and I fear it is making me more bitter (My wife may ask if that's possible!).
When the Huns sing their go home song, it makes me sick but so far it has been to us as a group of fans or Hibs as teh same, but on Saturday, they sang quite clearly to Hunt & Flood with great gusto.
Has this been mentioned by anyone anywhere. I was heartbroken and actually screamed at the telly throuigh frustration. If this was any other minority they would be forced to stop this. I could see Hunts emotion grow and McCurry obviously didn't help that!

I actually like living in this country and it's where my kids have been born but sometimes.... I wonder why I'm subjecting them to it!!!

Mucker
Maybe I should take their advice!!!!!!!

AbMucker

I'm not sure you'd want to go back home with all those UFO's in your area!

Paul

I have to say McCurry has made a good job of explaining why he and his linesman should be considered to be incompetent rather than corrupt - but then again what other option had he?

Having now admitted he got two big decisions wrong within a very important match he should take gardening leave for the remainder of the season

I think Caesar needs a whole new family

VertWolf

Another belter Paul.

I've only read about this in one newspaper but if you watch the huns game tonight (or the second goal anyway) you'll see Rev McCurry saying "great goal" twice to Novo shortly after he's scored. Anyone else spot this? Apparently Dundee Utd have which I was pleased to read today.

Such is situation in this country we now have refs celebrating with players.

One star, I was just about to give the Don Revie example. As you say, he was treated in a shocking manner. I think that he actually jumped before he was pushed, which made it all the more reprehensible the way he was treated.

One star - forgot about Revie, but there is a stark difference in the reaction. He moved to one of the Arabic states on a fat contract and remained in exile as a result of the hounding he got from the English Media.

Remember the SFA actually requested that Smith stayed on and only yielded as a result of his resignation. A further question for the SFA is, has the compensation agreed for the release of Smith from his contract ever been paid? I am led to believe that it has not.

Paul, Smith's position is even more untenable in my opinion.

Firstly, his comments in "It's Rangers for me" raised grave doubts as to his capacity for objectivity.

Secondly, he arguably brought the Scottish game into disrepute with his comments suggesting that cheating is part of the character of Estonia and Lithuania.

Next, he has already gone to the papers to publicly dismiss the notion of bias with his ridiculous comments about "complaints from every club".

Now, when you're Chief Executive of the SFA, you can quite happily dismiss everyone you work with or for as idiots when you're sipping tea with your wife or close family. You cannot just publicly declare that you will never take any such accusations seriously. The implication is that if we were faced with the sort of corruption that surfaced in Germany and many other countries, the SFA would dismiss the evidence out of hand without giving it due consideration.

That is neglect of their duties as administrators of our game. What Smith did was tantamount to a returning officer at an election saying: "Postal ballot rigging? Don't make me laugh - you're all just bad losers."

Smith has not just taken an unprofessional position - he has taken one with clear indications of bias.

Now, we all know that he considers any criticism of him to be invalid because he is "just confident" and "played for Rangers" but, seriously, that is also not a desirable response from someone in any public position.

That all combines to have Smith's employment contract terminated for unsuitability, in my opinion.

Something was niggling me so I just listened to Craig Levein's interview again.

He clearly says that in the goal incident McCurry initially said that the ball came off David Robertson before changing his mind.

Yet McCurry's statement says that he was initially going to give the goal because "The ball appeared to me to be deflected off a Rangers player"

Are you a liar as well as a cheat, McCuurry??

Porridge,

How's it going?
Didn't mean to sound so dramiatic in my post, they fekers just annoy me!

I seen your link and immediatley thought "Oh Gsus, I know that boy!"
I will try to get hold of Michael tonight and find out what narcotics he was on!. Is that the JED column in the Journal or is that taken as a real story? And we think reporting is going downhill in Scotland :-)

Mucker
Won't surrender.

One Star

When Smith came out and said he had 'complaints about referees from every club' was it not Craig Levein who came out publicly and basically called Smith a liar by saying he had never made a complaint about a referee? He was later backed up by his Chairman who repeated what Levein had said.

Well, thats my letters away to the SPL and the SFA stating I am dissatisfied with the product they are promoting and asked for a full refund of my season ticket.

Regarding the hun supporters trust... I love them, they want to be taken seriously but deary me, they are a joke.

Ed - whats your take on these clowns?

The cheat has admitted he cannot do his job, he should do the right thing and retire and go back to whatever it is he does best, I wonder if hes any good as a Rev?

Do the right thing Rev, get tae.

Through all their bleating on the fixture pile-up they don’t seem to appreciate that they’ve actually been handed 3 crucial games against opposition who have nothing at all to play for, including (incredibly) one game against a lower 6 club that should have been played before the split. What other team in any season climax in any league has been given such an easy run-in?

We all saw yesterday what tends to happen when one club needs the result and the other doesn’t. All three of Fulham, Birmingham and Reading recorded wins on the same weekend, I doubt that’s happened all season.

By ensuring that Motherwell’s 3rd spot was safe, McCurry has done far more than simply deliver 3 points against Dundee Utd. This guys needs to be sacrificed for the good of Scottish football, make an example of him as he’s retiring anyway (if he wasn’t planning retirement, then he should start now).

By malceye on April 29, 2008 11:36 PM
Can we stop this "woe is me" nonsense about being a Catholic under siege in Scotland. Under siege from what exactly ? A couple of mince newspapers and two radio shows who give air time to any bawheid that can dial the number ? A piece of advice - don't read them and don't listen to them.
There is no Protestant superiority in this country. The God fearing bodies that attend that church on a Sunday are too few in number to lay claim to that. So, take my advice, sweep them aside. We are no.1 and, if you also happen to follow the Celtic, you're no.1 on the field of play too !
"I'm a Scottish Catholic - you gotta problem with that ?!"

From one of my favourite posters.McCurry did not ref the recent Motherwell game.Bye the way he is finished.

Abmucker.Let them sing their Bile.From Government to Judiciary ,Senior Police officers,Education officials,we are an untreatable Tumour surging thru the body of this wee country.

I hate to see the negativity being posted.It reflects poorly on the tremendous work that has been done over the last 100 years.

Hail Hail.

Paul67, well said. I do take exception though to your language violation. Please refrain in future from using the term 'McCurry' as it cause myself and I'm sure many others distress.

One day this so called human being will meet his maker. I personally hope it is a long time away as I would like to be there when he rings that bell and GOD tells this so called man TGTF. Not that I'll get in either as I am a non religous Celtic loving hoopee. But just to be there and watch Mr Morals being told TFO would be a dream come true.

Anyway, Well done Celtic for keeping SPL alive. Outstanding displays yesterday form Robson and Heartley. If only WGS had put these 2 in way back we would not find ourselves in the position we are in but lets not look back. One game and 3-in-a-row.

What more can be said of the Holy Goalie that has not been said.
Artur, how did you manage to save that header from the ex-hun. That one defies physics. You were a hero once again.

I still cannot believe how little it takes for some of the hoopies to get on the Bhoy McGeady's back. Please remember that this bhoy is still young and although at times can be frustrating, at other times he can be a magician. just look at the Bhoys assists this season and point to me anyone who has done better. Shutup and support our Bhoy as he gets enough grief from every other fan in this country never mind getting it from his own.

Hail Hail

3-in-a-row-the-burberry-cardigan-knows.

Anyone for a game of Croquet on Wednesday night?

I agree 100% with Lennondinho18 on taking some form of action.

What is so frustrating is the predictability of what has happened here in the past few days.

We all knew McCurry would win them the game if it was a close one.

We all knew the media and the SFA would rally and effectively tell us all to * off and leave him alone.

We all know they are laughing behind closed doors contented with the situation.

We all know it will happen again in a few years. They have a production line. It like a Murray Park that actually aids Rangers.

The only surprise was Craig Levein refusing to let them turn it into a 'old firm' story. Well played that man - just wish a few more would follow suit.

On a seperate note. I see we are selling our home jersey quite cheaply at the moment. Does this mean we are bringing a new one out? If so that will be 8 jerseys in 4 seasons under Nike, not excluding the possibity of another away kit. I know it is a huge source of revenue for the club but it is taking things too far in my opinion.

Paul an absolutely wonderful article

Friends, Romans and Countrymen, I come to bury Ceaser not to praise him.......

Let's be clear about saturday's and Sunday's "decisions" by agent McCurry and his pal McDonald

No pen - no red card for Weir - no suspensions for Rankers
No goal - Goal Difference affected, let alone points difference
Cousin - no red card - no suspension for Rankers
Broadfoot punch on UTD player - can't see a rush to have a video review - again no suspension for Rankers at a critical time.

Caldwell penalty claim - clear pen - goal difference opportunity
McDonald goal chalked off for off-side - good goal - goal difference opportunity

so in my mind not only have these decisions impacted on points, but also involved the prevention of a potential swing of +3 goals to Celtic in a tight title race and has allowed rankers to avoid suspensions at a critical time.

these were deliberate acts by the "impartial" men who have been appointed to key games by "impartial" bosses in order to ensure that the league will be won by Rankers at all costs.

Shame on them all, shame on Scottish football, we are definitely being laughed at all over the world but not for the reasons suggested by Sir Minty.

the SFA have previous - Farry/Cadete debacle, given the recent situation exposed in Italy are we really too naive to believe that it couldn't happen here - it has and it looks like it always will.

Gordon Smith and George Peat stand accused of being apologists for FC Dignity, with little or no consideration for all other member clubs in Scotland.

we will never McCurry favours from anyone in the SFA, FACT!

"the evil that men do is often interred with their bones"

Hail Hail - we're going to the last day and we're going to the win the league despite these crimes by the authorities!

LET THE PEOPLE SING!

hoof hearted minty moonbeams: As part of the knighthood for Wattie campaign, Darryl Broadfoot even claimed he should be praised for leaving the "semi-retirement" of managing the national team.

See what I was saying earlier about putting the squeeze on papers? Well, The Herald is shedding staff again and they should be in our sights too given this, and the absurd diatribe against Artur Boruc.

Mcflurrys cheating has in effect cost Dundee utd the chance of earning millions in the Uefa cup. It therefore stands that his blatant bias could cost Celtic 12 million. If they do go onto win they will be tainted champions and fine well they know it. But do they care, not one iota, that you can take to the bank.

AbMucker

I'm not bad at all, though I am with you on the whole 'famine song'. Can you imagine the furore if this was a group singing about Muslims or Coloured people to go home?

You know the guy who put the picture in? The story is on their front page of the website though I'm not sure it's being taken all that seriously, doesn't seem to be the JED column. His wife/partner is putting up a stout defence on the comments section!

I believe that story more than I beleive the story I read here a few months ago about some team with no money planning to build a £700million, 70,000 stadium! :)

Georgiebhoy, I don’t have a problem with people being associated with one or other club, however this must be balanced and each individual should be seen to use their authority without prejudice.

hoof hearted minty moonbeams, people have been able to avoid answering difficult questions for long enough in this country.

Kitalba, :-)

I remember you and me discussing QotS some months ago.

Click the Ads! You bet I held back, the opportunities to employ effective imagery on this one were endless.

Parkheadcumsalford, SFA employees are employed by the clubs, not just one club. Whether the club have had enough yet remains to be seen.

BobbyRussell, unfortunately that is only speculation.

maisy dribble, thanks.

Niknaktic, aye, I was perhaps over generous.

CanajunBhoy, thank you.

VertWolf, the linesman excuse does not hold water. McCurry admits to seeing the Dundee United ‘goal’ strike a Rangers leg.

Bryce, better late than never.

One Star, good points.

Moonbeams wet dream, noted.

Savo01, there will be a new home jersey out at the start of September.

Faithfulthru&thru, absolutely thank you.

not enough has been made of the fact that their third goal was scored by Cousin's replacement- cousin being the man who should almost certainly have been sent off for head butting lee wilkie (assault victim who received a booking for his troubles!)

another i found laughable was the dundee united player being booked for his goal celebration - i.e. not celebrating before asking for confirmationt hat the goal stood (how dare he have the audacity to even suggest that the officials might get it wrong!)Explain that one SFA: potential to cause crowd trouble? Interesting that there was no booking for the unholy golie after jumping into the crowd to celebrate the h-words third goal!

so many dodgy inceidents in that match that many will be overlooked!

porridgeandbananas: It was indeed Levein and he called Smith's position into question at the time. Smith then claimed he had been misquoted sparking fury amongst the sports hacks threatening to play the tapes. Smith THEN said he had not been misquoted but made a jocular remark that had been misunderstood. Professionalism>

I meant to say before but I thought the banners by the Green Brigade were great again. I was stood behind them so didn't see how they looked to everyone else but I imagine they were impressive and the messages on them struck a chord.

The thing is I'm looking to find a course that teaches you how to read back to front, takes me about 10 minutes to work it out standing behind them!

One star,
I believe Rearrangers Madrid benefited from a similar regulatory regime under the reign of Franco.

Paul67
Forgot to mention,fab bit of pros.Once met Ceasers whores,it was up the Savoy on a Monday night.

Keep up the good work.I genuinely believe youare inspiring the momentum needed to take this league.

I was thinking to myself - imagine the decisions had gone the other way on Saturday?

Of course I can't imagine that - it is a ridiculous concept that they would robbed by a referee several times in one match.

TV(mainly Setanta) has robbed me of my imagination.

Mike McCurry said: "I believe that were it not for the fact that I had been caught out of position by the quick transfer of play I would have awarded Dundee United a penalty and would have cautioned the Rangers player David Weir.

"In my opinion there was another defender in close proximity with the possible opportunity to make a defensive challenge on the attacker."

My emphasis.

Source: The SFA's rubbishy web site with its (self-contradicting) unionist URL.

Where you can also find ...

Law 12 - Fouls and Misconduct

A player, substitute or substituted players is sent off and shown the red card if he commits any of the following seven offences:
...
5. denies an obvious goal-scoring opportunity to an opponent moving towards the player’s goal by an offence punishable by a free kick or a penalty kick ...

Discuss: the fact that Mike McCurry has not yet learned this law of the game is worse than his performance on Saturday.

McCurry may be finished, but he has done his work

He was hand picked, to do what he did on Saturday

Job Done

Paul67...excellent article...

Question...Could you tell me if appearances as a sub count whether a player gets a Championship Medal or not...As this affects Robson Samaras and a couple of others...

o1bhoy

Porridgeandbananas

take a mirror along with you to the games, when the banner goes up simply face the opposite direction to the banner and use the mirror to read it!

Hey Presto!!!

I think

JohnnyBallCSC

Porridge,

Seen your comments on the Derry Journal Site. Fantastic.
Yer, right his missus does seem to be a believer.
Class

Paul67,
Has the obvious imbalance in McCurry's offiating been picked up by any of the "Old Media"?
The Aberdeen site link had been put out yesterday with numerous accounts of McCurry's calls in favour of Rankers.

Not one of our Investigative journos pick this up????

Mucker
Feeling like an Alien

Not to mention the free kick for Rangers' first goal that was extremely dodgy too!

One thing I believe is slowly changing in this country is the view of the neutral. My grandad and dad both believed you could split Scotland into 2 types of people: those who supported Celtic and those who didn't. People who were Dundee, Aberdeen, Partick Thistle etc. fans would support their own team first and foremost but would always prefer the "establishment team" to beat Celtic.

Given the outright arrogance of Rangers (and their friends in the SPL, SFA and Referee Lodge) this season toward not only Celtic but the likes of Dundee United and Queen of the South, I think neutral fans have a genuine dislike for Rangers more than Celtic. I'm not saying all these people will have Celtic as their 2nd team (and I certainly wouldn't want that), and you will always get "mini hun" knuckldraggers at teams like Hearts and Airdrie, but I firmly believe the days of Rangers being "Scotland's team" are over.

PS Just before empires crumble, is when the worst and most desperate decisions are made. I fully expect McCurry to be given either - another Rangers SPL game OR Celtic's last game OR the Cup Final. I wouldn't actually be too shocked if Smith and Peat arranged for him to get more than one of the options above as a GIRUY to Celtic or the new breed of Scots: "Non-Rangers people" (like Craig Levein)

o1bhoy sub appearances also count buddy.

Nelsbhoy, :-)

Thanks.

o1bhoy, they do, thanks.

Abmucker, it doesn’t fit their agenda.

Excellent article Paul!

It seems to me though that the only way to get rid of these whores is to go above them, can we not get UEFA and FIFA involved and get an impartial investigation done.

For years if there has been any question raised to the SFA regarding any form of decisions that helps them and has and adverse affect on the other member clubs, it is given lip service or is swept away, it is a bit like having Dracula in charge of the blood bank! They will due what suits them.

I think it's about time we went above their heads, or maybe we should break away from the SPL or SFA because of this blatant cheating.

McManus69 cheers for posting the comments by McCurry, nice to see he has had the time to watch the replays of the game in order to justify his decision making or lack of.

gsu

Paul - I don't mind people not answering direct or awkward questions as such, many's a great leader/politician have made an art of this and when used correctly, its a great skill. What concerns me is that the people you refer to do not have these talents. They are simply not being asked.

Re the famine song, whilst not trying to move the discussion in a political way, one thing that has to be noted is that (under EU legislation which the UK signed up to), it is the EMPLOYER who owns the responsibility of protecting their staff from bullying and harrassment. Potentially, Dundee UTD could be challenged by Noel Hunt and Willo Flood (pretty sure he is an ulsterman?? not that it makes any difference) if this continues. This is the same for all clubs and their employees. There is nothing like a direct threat to a director of a firm to make sure action gets taken! This is why in many European countries, where they have strong unions, this type of behaviour is tackled immediately. Usually through the local FA who tend to be made up of directors from the clubs. PSG have been banned from a competition in France due to a banner their support hung in one of their games.

Whilst the SFA bury their heads in the sand over this, all directors of SFA clubs are directly exposed to legal action from their staff should they chose to do so. Effectively, by refusing to punish the source, everyone else is left carrying the risk.

Strange place Scotland!!

Celtic first

spot on, if you pardon the pun - penalty, red card, no brainer

sounds to me like McCurry is desperately trying to pass the buck to the referees assistant and deflect away from his errors.

He was the ref and needed to have the balls to make these decisions!

I am sure if you were to run the two videos of McCurry refereeing Rankers v Dundee United this season, focusing on this weeks dissallowed goal and the one awarded to Captain Unbookable, impartial observers would select the wrong one as being chalked off.

so when it's a goal for Rankers he over-rules his assistant, yet when its against them he takes his assistants view as a get out of jail free card - ditto the penalty

are we able to ask why this is so? I know we know why, but sometimes it's just good to raise the question and seek an answer

Hail Hail

PS Thought the atmosphere at the end yesterday was superb and was seriously dissappointed not to view it later on my sky+

Paul, any chance of asking CelticTV to show the aftermatch scenes on the match replay? I know you have many powers of persuassion with the club?

Lubo

posted on that topic last night.

Im almost positive St Mirren or Falkirk managed to get a referee appointment for one of their games changed this season. Im sure it was on the basis that the ref had had a stinker at one of their previous games.

If we get McCurry for the Tannadice game, I think we should go down the same route, how can we possibly expect a fair refereeing performance from him after the weekends incompetence.

Peat

Peat Blog

Cheers mate, should make for an interesting disucssion with the Police as I go in if they find the mirror on me! It's even harder when they use the font they did yesterday!

The two banners I was on about are shown here.

Banners

that shold read "do" not "due"

I meant to add thanks to Kerrydale Street Forum for the pics!

Paul67,well done,that just about covers all the points.no doubt as usual nothing will be done about it and the huns will continue to live happy in their own wee biggoted world. denmhan.

The Three Un-Wise Monkeys Of Scottish Football

The nicest thing I can say about McCurry's performances in games involving rangers is that he sees what he wants to see. If I wasn't in a reasonably good mood (for a Monday) I'd probably call him a cheat.

It's interesting, from a media perception, that in spite of Craig Levein continually emphasing in his well justified rant that it was RANGERS who were on the receiving end of favourable decisions it was refered to as a complaint against 'Old Firm bias' in many parts. The media hears what it wants to hear.

What can you say about Gordon Smith, the man who in 2003 was as close to tears as he could be without spilling the saline, when Celtic beat Boavista to get to the final. Naka gets bundled over against St Mirren and he tells the world that we have to clamp down on diving in Scottish football. Subsequently at least four rangers players are guilty of the most blatant of dives and he refuses to 'speak any evil' of his favoured club.

As the saying now goes ... "only in Scotland!"

PS Paul, there are many things I look forward to in life. One of them is the day when the first posts in your comments section will not be "1st", "2nd" or any other such irritating nonsense.
What was that I said about being in a reasonably good mood? ;o)

Peat Blog

You're right about the ref protest. It was St Mirren who objected to Alan Freeland taking charge of their cup replay at Tannadice due to decisions he made in an earlier game this season. The ref was changed I'm sure.

Paul, great stuff! I love when you get your jaiket off!

The RST aren't the smartest of bears. There's at least a decent chance that Dignity FC will be relying on Dundee Utd to do them a favour a week on Thursday.

Quite how proposing Rangers fans boycott Dundee Utd in the run up to this game will improve the battling qualities of Dundee Utd to hand Rangers the championship is beyond me.

On a slightly different issue, that of player/management bias being an issue in the run in.

I've no reason to believe, Boab Malcolm and Stephen Hughes apart, that Mwell will not be up for a game this Saturday. Their speed and aggression will be too much for a Rangers team, who will not have the Rev McCurry to get them out of a hole on Wednesday.

I also have a wee bit of hope for Aberdeen. I know neither of the two Jimmies or Sandy Clark will want us to win the championship, but their players and fans are a different matter. I'm not convinced the Aberden players love Jimmy Calderwood that much.

I'm delighted to read of Craig Levein standing up for fair play. Levein is a fair guy. He may have, or had, a softer spot for Rangers at one point, but like Spiers, he is not prepared to be bullied in to the "Old Firm are as bad as each other nonsense".

Also, just in passing, if you want to know what one the RST's, er, leading thinkers, other passion is, when he wants a break from supporting Rangers, have a wee look at this
Test your link by clicking here : this!

Just heard Levein giving it the O** F*** nonsense on the BBC news!
Job done by the RST methinks! Maybe money does talk?

Paul,

I think that the 'McCurry is a cheat angle' , although true, is very easily ignored.

I commented to someone that after his decision to allow Barry Fergusons goal against Hearts in the L/C semi, that since there were already real questions about either his competence or impartiality, then he should not be allowed to referee another Rangers game all season.
(Bearing in mind that he had already booked 9 Celtic players at Ibrox and that he already had refereed an unfeasibly high number of Rangers games at that time so early in the season).

So my point is, if McCurry is merely incompetent and a statistical anomaly, then the SFA have it in their power both now and in the future to ensure that such questions do not arise.

If any single refereeing performance shows excessive incompetence that favours any one side, then surely that referee should not be allowed to officiate in a match involving that side again?
And if questionable performance continues in other matches, then surely said referee should be demoted to the Junior League?

So, constructive criticism for Gordon Smith - simply saying that everything is above board is not acceptable. Put some steps in place to ensure that incomeptence is punished, not rewarded, and show some credible initiative to ensure impartiality.

Bazzabhoy :- When the RST was set up their mission statement sounded good, one of the main points being to encourage the buying of shares and spreading the ownership of the club among a wider fan base. However in my opinion all that changed fairly quickly and at times an anti board mentality seemed to be the most important part of their existence, to me that's a fair enough view but they should have been more open about it. I also feel that over a short period of time they began to resemble Follow Follow with hatred of those playing, employed by and supporting Celtic coming to the fore. If they wanted to be anti Celtic the club then that's fair enough but like many they failed to differentiate between that legitimate viewpoint and senseless bigotry. I think they have become far too extreme and it means that if they do come up with sensible points then the sensible points are either swamped with vitriol or ignored due to the source and their previous statements.
All of the above is just an opinion held by myself