Angry, bitter and ugly consequences for us all

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No one has directly suggested Newco should have had a penalty when the ball struck Alistair Johnston’s hand moments before halftime on Saturday.  Abdallah Sima was offside, the attacking move effectively ended when he tried to win possession.  This fact is being overlooked by the losing club and instead, it is being implied they were denied a penalty by a malicious actor.  Many news outlets have also reported Newco were (rightly or wrongly) denied a penalty, a tad inflammatory, but worse has happened.

What’s more, during the halftime interval, the BBC had received enough information to report “Regardless [of the offside], the officials apparently deemed the movement of [Johnston’s] hand to be natural.”  So we knew then the VAR did not deem the incident sufficient to merit examination of the earlier offside decision.

You are free to dispute the handball incident, just as the decision by the same VAR when Connor Goldson put two hands to a Carl Starfelt shot when the same teams met a year earlier.  We are football fans, we disagree and dispute decisions.  But, there is a line even fans do not cross.

For full disclosure, here is my take on the Goldson/Starfelt incident a year ago, I thought Celtic should have had a penalty, and called for consistency from SFA officials (SFA Head of Refereeing, Crawford Allan) who chose to comment when he believed Celtic were advantaged by a decision, not the other way around.

Yesterday, Newco directors James Bisgrove and Craig Robertson met Crawford Allan and afterwards issued an incendiary statement claiming, “From the meeting, there was an overriding consensus the VAR decision of no handball was incorrect.”  This implies Allan told them he believed the VAR got the decision wrong.

It’s been reported they have requested that the VAR in question, Willie Collum, does not officiate at any of their games in future.  This comes two years after the same club went after referee Kevin Clancy, for red carding Ryan Kent at Pittodrie.  Two Newco ‘fans’ were subsequently charged in connection with threats made to Clancy.

The SFA have yet to issue a statement but let media outlets know they dispute Newco’s version of events.  Crawford Allan looks increasingly out his depth.  Carelessly shooting the breeze about a decision can be weaponised by nefarious actors.  If there is a good explanation, we must hear it, if not, he should consider his position.

No one lied to their manager.  No one changed a match report after it became clear a conspiracy would not hold.  This was a simple handball dispute for a move that was confirmed as offside.

I wish I could tell you the widespread reaction to an offside incident was a smokescreen to cover up for a defeat, or a lack of funds to spend appropriately this month, or an attempt to build some siege mentality at a club which is living on the edge.  It’s not.  Collum and Clancy have ethnic heritage in common, a triggering matter to some.

What will happen next?  RC referees will experience increased pressure at Newco games.  They know they will make mistakes, they know that if they officiate Newco they will make mistakes against that club.  And they know what will follow.

I don’t think this behaviour works for clubs.  Referees can also adopt a siege mentality, wagons will circle.  The Halo Effect of not conceding a penalty kick for 75 games disappeared with their initial reaction to Saturday’s defeat.  Human nature is almost impossible to calculate.

Once you permit outrage at a perceived injustice, it is very difficult to deescalate.  The perception of being an angry, bitter and ugly outfit is difficult to shift.  Anger released endorphins can be addictive.  Sensible people find it impossible to work in these environments, the organisation decays.  So it’s not all bad.

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  1. Crow-ford allen will want to keep his job!

     

     

    if he goes down it will be screaming and shouting like the bitch he is.

  2. BRRB

     

     

    Try and leave Dublin approximately the way you find it!

     

     

    And good luck with “dry January”!

     

     

    Me an the misses are doing it. She’s trying to lose weight and I’m trying to stay alive!

     

     

    Gulp!

  3. this would be a great time for Celtic to publicly criticize rangers approach – call out the lack of penalties against as a worldwide outlier where VAR is concerned ! the perfect time is now on the back of a win!

     

     

    but our board is too weak and accepts its place in Scottish society!

     

     

    Also, am I the only one who thinks the Sterling “flailing arm” was deliberate? heck of a swing given the lack of rotation in his overall body movement. Straight red

  4. So the legitimate penalty on Turnbull, has totally disappeared, only in the Bestest ,Biggest,Wee Bigoted Country on God’s Earth

  5. BADA BING!! on 4TH JANUARY 2024 7:35 PM

     

     

    So the legitimate penalty on Turnbull, has totally disappeared, only in the Bestest ,Biggest,Wee Bigoted Country on God’s Earth

     

     

    Also the goin for the knee challenge by Goldson on Bernardo where Bernardo got booked as Goldson writhed like a wean playing deadmanfall.

     

     

    HH

  6. So what have I learned (to my embarrassment) this week? That I shouldn’t try to do clever jokes at the expense of messing up the individual MOTM scores. Nae wonder nobody got my reference to The Bluebells. 2 errors in my results post (though points weren’t affected) – O’Riley received 73 votes, not 72. And Yang (like Hart) received a single vote. For the record, here are the corrected votes cast –

     

     

    Hart: 1

     

    Johnston, A: 2

     

    Nawrocki: 0

     

    Scales: 7

     

    Taylor*: 62

     

    McGregor: 30

     

    O’Riley*: 73

     

    Bernardo*: 62

     

    Maeda: 2

     

    Kyogo: 0

     

    Palma: 0

     

    Yang: 1

     

    Abada: 0

     

    Lagerbielke: 0

     

    Oh: 0

     

    Hatate: 0

     

     

    (ps Yang et Hart….. you’re so Yang et Hart… d’oh!!!!!!!)

  7. Also now precedent set that all clubs can ask for the audio in future,keep that in mind

     

     

    HH

     

     

    BRRB

     

     

    True,or smiles with full range of teeth,usually one chipped due to fightin lols :-))).

     

     

    Hh

  8. BRRB

     

     

    Cheers mate!

     

     

    I’ve recorded the match, but as my misses is off work until Monday, I will watch it then!

     

     

    (I can bawl and shout without interruption)

     

     

    C’MON THE CELTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  9. Fritzsong 11.54

     

    AN TEARMANN on 4TH JANUARY 2024 8:56 AM

     

     

    Tauranga bhoy

     

     

    There are a number of things about Gaza which don’t add up. Egyptian intelligence officers claim that they warned Israel of unusual Hamas activity at the start of the week ending in 7 Oct. Israel denies any such warning. On 7 Oct., Hamas irregulars breached ‘the world’s most sophisticated defence and monitoring systems. Hamas was then able to murder over a thousand Israelis, rape Israeli women and abduct over 200 hostages before the IDF responded. This stinks.

     

     

    Netanyahu has one stated aim. That is to kill Palestinians and drive them out of Gaza – to create an Israeli state from the river to the sea. The unstated aim is to foment a never ending war. Such a war is his only guarantee against doing jail time. The lawyers always ask the question: ‘Cui bono?’ (Who benefits). The answer, maybe not the only one, to anything ugly in Gaza is Benjamin Netanyahu. By the way, Netanyahu funded Hamas through Qatar./

     

     

    ==========================

     

    Sound observations which seem to have been hushed to the side Fritzsong.

     

    As you say Egyptian intelligence did warn of imminent build up and told the israelis.

     

    Again why did the iron dome turn into a wet paper bag,Why also no note of israeli gunships spraying the area and in the chaos killing israelis.

     

    Well pointed out bout Netanyahu funding Hamas,the intelligence and origins of who is working with who has been a quagmire i got interested in around the time of IranContra/ollie north/arms scandal which enabled support for groups and govts in central america.

     

    The present coalition of chaos in Israel has ripped up the rule book domestically in reforms as they are doing in the current Genocide.

     

     

    HH

  10. What is the Starz on

    An Tearmann at 7.40

     

    Bernardo was booked for celebrating his goal.He wasn’t booked for the tackle on Goldson…Although the peepil think he should have been

  11. BELMONTBRIAN

     

     

    I will listen to that in the morning when I get my ears syringed!

     

     

    Hope you are better than good !!

  12. Imagine Celtic branding the Kerrydale with 1690 and 55 and ‘cheer up Tommy Burns’ or equivalent. Then allowing rangers fans into it pre a derby game.

     

     

    They seems to be what sunderlands new owners have allowed to happen before their game this weekend.

     

     

    Bad enough the prematurely sack Tony Mowbray. Than compi d it by appointing Beale. Now this. A 27 year old owner doesn’t help things mind you.

  13. Back to Basics - Glass Half Full on

    SCULLYBHOY on 4TH JANUARY 2024 6:01 PM

     

     

    WHY I DID IT!

     

     

    (Celtic View 1972)

     

     

    Jock Stein explains that foray into the crowd at the Stirling game

     

     

    ‘The Wreckers are chanting about things that have nothing to do with football’

     

     

    I don’t like criticising Celtic fans. But I have to take odds with at least a section of them. What I did on Saturday was something I’ve felt like doing for quite a while.

     

     

    It’s my sincere wish that it will have a lasting effect, as I’m sure that the vast majority of our fans do. Celtic supporters have enjoyed a lot of good times during the past few years and all of it was due to hard work – by the players, the backroom boys and the directors.

     

     

    The fans too have played a major role and we don’t want to see it all ruined now by the bad element who have recently emerged. Nor do we want to see the fans of long standing who followed us through the lean years discouraged from watching us play.

     

     

    This bad element – or the wreckers as the View called them last week – are singing and chanting about things which have nothing to do with football.

     

     

    Surely there are enough Celtic songs without introducing religion or politics or anything else.

     

     

    ———-

     

     

    I don’t disagree with Jock

  14. BACK TO BASICS – GLASS HALF FULL on 4TH JANUARY 2024 10:10 PM

     

    SCULLYBHOY on 4TH JANUARY 2024 6:01 PM

     

     

    WHY I DID IT!

     

     

    I don’t disagree with Jock

     

     

    *well I did at the time but then again I was in my early, very early, 20s

  15. After coming out on Saturday and saying they had demanded the audio but the SFA wouldnt meet until Wednesday, the huns backed themselves into a corner and needed a ‘win’ following yesterdays meeting.

     

     

    The question is, is their version a lie or is it the truth and a version Crawford Allan thought would remain private. Once it became public, Allan and the SFA had a massive problem because the referees and the clubs simply cant accept the version of events which was briefed out by the huns.

     

     

    I am inclined to think the huns version is made up lies but wouldnt rule out the possibility that Allan gave them private assurances and didn’t think they would brief it out.

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