Communication from the SFA Head of Refereeing, Willie Collum, is lightyears ahead of anything we have had before.
Celtic’s late penalty win at Kilmarnock came under scrutiny. The decision by VAR to award the kick was validated by the review process but voices in the game were not happy about it.
Having listened to “stakeholders”, guidance to referees on how to interpret the rules has been changed, going forward, the same incident will not result in a penalty award.
This is incredibly transparent and provides flexibility within the rules to accommodate clubs’ wishes. It’s good officiating. Whether the game would have spoken so loudly had the decision gone for Kilmarnock is moot. Rules and guidance change, we are as likely to benefit from this change as to lose.
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Refugees are welcome
Have a good day all
HH
Bring on the ‘DEE
mm
The penalty rule is sensible change for the better , even if it was brought about by a tidal wave of anti-Celtic resentment . I anticipate all similar handball occurances in the spfl in future to be accompanied by a referance to ‘how we got away with one’ at Kilmarnock .
Reference …. red ink correction in my jotter !
I wondered what “listening to stakeholders” meant when I read the statement
I don’t think there’s anything sinister at work, and that it’s a good thing if the referees are listening to common sense from football people to guide their interpretation of the rules. But im slightly uneasy about the principle – we know what “listening” can lead to if there are bad actors keen to take advantage
Celtic always ‘get away with it’, ask any supporter of any club in Scotland and they’ll all say the same, usually lumped in with Triggers Broom FC, ignoring the obvious that it is the Dead Team who for a century got most 70:30 decisions never mind 50:50. This allows them to not call the obvious and risk the wrath of the Hun hordes
Happy Monday all!
CELTIC40ME
Willie Collum has a few flaws but being a bad actor I don’t reckon is one of them.
Now , Crawford Allan on the other hand ….
‘Stakeholder’ in the context of controversial refereeing decisions in Scotland conjures up the image of a greetin’-faced, swivel-eyed Celtic-hater, who only notices the occasional decision that goes in Celtic’s favour and not the many that don’t. Collum can listen to them if he wants. But I hope our mute board is also putting in its tuppence worth about the double standards we face.
I shouldn’t be too harsh on the SFA. I understand they organised a couple of bounce fitness games for Ralston and Tierney over the weekend to get them match ready for Dundee. Don’t know how they went, but thanks to the Hampden beaks all the same.
Listening to two repulsive creatures on the same platform,extolling each others virtues,Trump and Netanyahu,really brings home to me the state our world is in.Two convicted criminals taking applause in front of the world media,for the mass murder of innocent women and children,through,bombing,starvation,and the total destruction of their land.
Lunatics in N.Korea,China,Russia,United States,India,not to mention the myriad in Africa,S.America.
Trump is really only starting to lay the groundwork for his plans.He is wreaking havoc on the constitution,and putting placemen in positions to enable him.Troops and National Guard on the streets,a precursor to the overturning of the Midterm election results,if,as forecast,they go against him,yet still lauded and applauded .Watch this space.
Can anyone explain what the rule was and what’s been changed?
The ball hit the guys outstretched arm on the 6 yard line and changed its direction away from goal.
How’s that not a penalty?
In other news, fresh from watching their Gerrard bandwagon go up in flames, the SMSM appear launching another behind this Kohl chap.
Fool me once and all that🙄
I thought Collum tied himself up in knots over the handball law and we’ll now be subject to very different interpretations based on the doubt he has now introduced.
An outstretched arm inside your own penalty box that has the effect of the ball being deflected or falling like a stone, is a penalty. The defending player has clearly made themselves bigger and in so doing have accrued an advantage.
Collum saying it was a valid pen by the laws of the game then in the next sentence saying it now wouldn’t because ‘stakeholders’ gave off about it is bizarre and incredibly weak.
We’ll see our opposition with arms outstretched basket ball style now and they’re likely to get away it.
Far from clarity, there’s now a significant element of interpretation which will lead inevitably to inconsistency.
Never quite bought into the concept of ‘stakeholders’. (does it include the Scottish media for example)
And not least because of its’ use by the like of Tony Blair and his acolytes. (wouldn’t surprise me if he used it in the context of the future of Gaza/Palestine)
Though a permanent member of IFAB the SFA cannot change the Laws of the Game unilterally.
Ergo the handball ‘rule’ still stands. ‘Deliberate’ or ‘Unnatural’ are the key criteria. Both open to interpretation, the latter related to whether the arm movement is ‘justifiable’ …..’for that specific situation’. And despite Paul67 welcoming the ‘clarity’ Collum brings to the interpretation (as in the Celtic award versus Killie) Collum muddies the waters by saying that ‘ah but if the same action took place on the goal line it would still be a penalty’. Which in itself, as the Common Folk know, would be an improvement on decisions taken by refereees in Scottish Cup Semi-Finals in the recent past.
Theres always been interpretation, it’s how the refs apply the laws.
The refs dont make the laws, they can’t change them and it’s their jobs to apply them to the games theyre reffing. Not change the rules because they aren’t working or because the stakeholders dont like them
If listening to stakeholders (the clubs who are affected by the decisions) means we get a more sensible interpretation of the laws then everyone wins.
“Collum saying it was a valid pen by the laws of the game then in the next sentence saying it now wouldn’t because ‘stakeholders’ gave off about it is bizarre and incredibly weak.”
It’ the opposite of weak
celtic40me
You seem to be arguing against yourself there…..
If the ball hits your hand IMO it should be a pen, end of, it would stop all the cheating, bias, dubiety etc etc, remember the pen given against Matt O’Riely against Real in Madrid, I could go on with countless more examples that were given against us and pens that were not given to us when those playing against us should have been punished, it’s the only answer, again IMO.
Turkeybhoy on 13th October 2025 1:16 pm
Yes worrying times!
Guaranteed it will inevitably end up like that
Collum seems to be asking his officials to judge where the ball was going to end up had the deflection not occurred and to then assess the ‘impact’ of said handball.
This is just mental and places officials in an impossible situation.
Arms in an unnatural position which deflects the ball inside the box should be a penalty.
Meanwhile,Raphael Wicky,?????,sacked by Berne,has thrown his name in the Hun manager hat.
Result of that news hitting FF,a resounding,” NAW”
I’ve watched that Killie handball dozens of times and I’ve no idea where that ball was going to end up had the handball not occurred. It’s Literally impossible for an official to judge that.
The only thing we can say with certainty is that the killie player had his hand in an unnatural position, made himself bigger and cut out the ball with his hand.
Adding layers of interpretation will lead to inconsistency.
A favourite headline last week;
“William Hill have suspended betting on the next Rangers manager market.
The bookmaker shut down the betting odds on the manager overnight after a “flood of money” for Steven Gerrard.”
Those who thought they would spend their winnings on XXXL Castore kit for Christmas, now a bit disappointed.
Why are people getting get up about that penalty.It was harsh,it got deflected onto the guys arm from about a yard away.If it had gone against us,we would have been raging.The rule has been changed for the better.The same thing could have gone against us in the future..Yes I know we have had plenty of howlers,against in the past,MORs,our LB facing the wrong way,but they might have been classed as penalties then.If the rule is bad,change it.
Don’t know if anyone saw the penalty against Ireland the other night.From every angle shown,the ball smashed into O’Sheas chest.5 minutes check by VAR,penalty.As bad a decision as Kelechis.
Bhoys Town,
😥😥😥😥😥😥😥😥😥😥,bbbbut they said he wis cummin.
An Dun,
If the ball comes off your body onto your hand,its not a penalty.Why,when it comes off someone so close to you,it is?.IMO,good change.Anyway,we got it,who cares now?.
Depending on how Dundee U go about it at the weekend,could be more wailing and gnashing of teeth.Killie on the plastic,playing well,who knows,but a tough one for Hearts.
Could be a nice weekend.
Only two more hun managers before Xmas.
Another joke, Scotland football team.
on a serious note, just watched the presser with Net AND Yahoo and asshole Trump, sick in the bucket time, totally nauseating stuff, what has this world become. So sorry for the next generation really.
kingLUBO
CELTIC MAC on 13TH OCTOBER 2025 2:20 PM
celtic40me
You seem to be arguing against yourself there…..
I probably didn’t make myself clear – it’s only because we’re talking about Scottish football with the Huns in it.
TURKEYBHOY
I thought it a legitimate penalty on the basis of the arm being in an unnatural position.
P67 thinks this will just as likely help us as penalise us – but that just ignores the fact that we have 80% of the ball and our always attacking our opponents penalty area. It’s clearly more likely to adversely impact us because our opponents can now have arms extended to help them defend, packed opposition penalty areas just got a whole lot more packed.
TURKEYBHOY
sPOT ON, BETTER PUT THAN WEE ME
Well said, and so true
kingLUBO
On Trump. ( last word, honest)
I have a good few American friend, who, like me, cannot understand why Trump is so popular. Surely there can’t be so many dumb Yanks not able to see the destroyer at work, beyond me indeed.
Painful
kingLUBO
Friends , plural
AN DÚN on 13TH OCTOBER 2025 2:38 PM
Thats the point. Have the referees applying the laws according to one interpretation that makes sense to as many of the stakeholders as possible.
Nobody will ever be happy when a decision goes against them, and the referees will always have to deal with the parochial nature of Scottish football – both the Huns and us are convinced the refs make decisions based on personal bias not the laws. But in terms of them making less controversial, or “wrong” decisions (the judgment of right it wrong is made by the stakeholders) listening and changing when it’s needed is a good thing for Scottish football
Semi final emails out.
A couple of thoughts….
1. Willie Collum is providing more transparency than has ever been provided in the history of Scottish football.
2. We (and he) are still paying the price for the manner in which VAR was introduced to Scottish football.
Bringing it in DURING the season was ridiculous in the extreme.
Worse than that was the absence of CRITERIA in relation to referee decisions. Week on week, we have seen the definitions change as a result what happened on the field.
The quite astonishing penalty and subsequent yellow card issued to Alexandro Bernabei, for example. It took crazy penalties to others before the criteria were clarified.
It doesn’t help that the SFA’s KMI panel is:
1. Anonymous;
2. Independent of Willie’s people. They present THEIR views to the public, often before Willie has had the opportunity to explain HIS view.
Bear in mind that the KMI Panel is made up of, well, we don’t know. The SFA website includes this ‘info’…
Who is on the KMI panel?
Each KMI Panel consists of five members: three independent panel members with established careers within Scottish football – such as coaches, former players and members of the Scottish football media – one representative from the Scottish FA and one representative from SPFL clubs.
No names. Just ‘coaches’, ‘former players’, and ‘members of the Scottish football media’.
They could just pick any bbc Scotland panel….
So, Willie, is now still trying to figure out what a handball is. Something that SHOULD have been clarified before VAR became a thing. Not his fault, but with the help of a panel of people who spend their day jobs trying to dramatize events (usually in relation to Celtic), he isn’t able deliver consistency or clarity.
I can only presume that the KMI Panel is there to make sure that Willie isn’t TOO correct in his decisions.
Weeron