We deservedly lost at Ibrox on Saturday, so it would have been inappropriate to apportion any responsibility towards referee John Beaton, for the free reign Newco player Alfredo Morelos had to kick Scott Brown, stamp on Anthony Ralston and assault the genitals of Ryan Christie during the game.
These things occasionally happen in football (although seldom in such quantities) and are picked up by the SFA review process. What is exceptional about these circumstances is that the review process is unable to act as the referee claims to have witnessed each incident and determined no action was worthy of a caution or more.
Beaton will have mitigated his decisions with some or other explanation, perhaps with “It wasn’t that bad a stamp” type comment. This is how the process works. The system is rightly designed to protect referees and allow them latitude to make decisions, including the occasional mistake.
It is not always easy to view common assault for what it is, in fact, it is easy to get carried away with an occasion and raise your threshold for such matters. It is only human to be affected this way. But this is bad refereeing.
Beaton could have taken the easy route out and claimed he missed one or more of the incidents, each was off the ball, after all. That would have allowed the review panel to dispassionately decide if such attacks are to be prohibited, or encouraged, in our game. Instead, he affirmed that in his view, there was nothing in Morelos behaviour worthy of a caution.
I have no idea what Dedryck Boyata said to earn his red card from John Beaton against St Johnstone earlier this season but I defended the referee’s decision that day. You have to trust match officials to competently carry out their duties. Do I still trust John Beaton’s views on kicking players, stamping, genital punching and the like? No. His views and significantly out of line with mine.
I don’t see a conspiracy in what happened this week, just a referee who was not up to the job. A good referee would have cautioned Morelos for the first incident (kick on Brown). This may have prevented the more serious attacks on Ralston and Christie, but the Newco player was not even spoken to after any of the incidents.
These are not easy games to officiate but this was not a game full of controversy or incident, only one player and one referee lost the plot.
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David 17 @ 6.42pm
Ref that SFA statement.
“a line has been crossed” they say.
“Match officials are a vital part of the game and they work exceptionally hard to maintain high standards.” they say.
But they say nothing of the ancillary issue which is that referees are prevented by SFA control from discussing their decisions or action after any game, so that we too can see that they try to maintain high standards.
They also say nothing of the vacuum that exists when genuine questions are raised by honest people about apparently inexplicable decisions made by referees. No official from the SFA will speak about specific incidents or perticular officials.
The vacuum left by this ancient & discredited rule of silence from the best sources is that any & all other opinions become valid & gain traction. For the SFA to insist that they alone know what happened & why but insist of not sharing information that might allay the sense of grievance, anger & frustration is bad enough. That they then lecture the other “stakeholders” (as they call them) via a statement about their actions or comments is surely satire of Orwell proportions. If the SFA truly wanted to protect the integrity of the game & the safety of their officials they need only allow reasonable media access to officials so that fans can begin to have confidence in how the game is run.
Whether we liked it or not, the other mob were entitled to raise their own concerns about Willie Collum & whatever they thought he had done wrong in whatever game it was. Their big mistake was to imply that his decision making was based on an inherent bias traceable to Collum’s religious affiliations.
That sectarian accusation apart, we should have had no issue with them compaining about the competence of referees in Scotland. This season several SPFL managers have complained long & loud about refereeing “incomptence”. By the same token they should have no issue with our compaint of Beaton’s dismal display recently. Celtic’s statement is a start, but it seems to be rather insipid to me, because of the club’s desire to remain well onside with the SFA over what they said. They will say that they were obliged to word things such so as to avoid the risk of being fined too, but did it have to be so wet?
All of this makes the whole game seem like a farcical game of tit for tat, hidden agenda, nod & wink messages, passive aggressive outbursts, silence & zero confidence by many of those minor “stakeholders” such as you & I.
Some things are very clear.
– Referees in Scotland do not appear to be as well trained as those in England (the only measurable
comparison we have).
– Referees personal club affiliations are ignored when they are appointed to officate at games.
– Referees training has produced a clutch of officials that seem to operate as if they are the copper & the
players are some yobs that need to lectured to, patronised or ignored. Compare that with how many FA
refs actually tallk to players int heir games & how respect is a two way thing there.
– For referees to be respected in the modern world of football, they need to be more open, better trained,
more approachable, more communicative & less secretive.
– The SFA & the appropriate officers who deal with referees & their training need to understand that we are
all in an era of instant communication & that their resistance to change is the main obstruction to
improved performance by officials & an increased confidence in them by/from fans.
The game in Scotland is a disaster – measured by any modern benchmark.
– Our players are amongts the least valued by sides beyond our borders.
– Our club sides’ fortunes in European competition is so poor that other than just Celtic, normally no others qualify beyond the first knock-out rounds.
– Our international side has failed to qualify for any tournament for 20 years+.
– Our televised league encounters are of no interest to international audiences because the quality of players & referees ensures that the games are the least skilful on offer & NO self respecting ambitious player with skill would want to play in our game. In other words we cannot sell our game abroad.
– NO foreign money of any substance is being invested in our game, because they calculate that the return would be not worth the trouble. Better returns can be had in just about any other league.
But the most glaring fault in our game is that it is run by dinosaurs who want primarily to hold on to power & status, and who reject any meaningful change that might endanger their grip on the game.
In England the FA has it’s critics, but they are accountable & enact changes via a system of review & improve that those in Scotland appear to scoff at. Relevant government ministers insist on changes within the FA as the price for government money being given to the FA. Our own government is bedevilled by the same poison that afflicts the SFA – zero confidence by the man/woman in the street & a suspician that local, tribal allegiances carry more weight with them than doind what is best for all.
Beaton would have written his report of the match after being made aware of the potential issues over his leniency towards Morelos. To include in his report or in an interview with the Compliance officer afterwards, any comment that he had seen all the relevant incidents & saw nothing worthy of any intervention by him merely raises serious questions about his honesty & integrity & the lack of transparency.
So, if the comments were in his written report it really begs the question ” why would any referee specifically mention any particular single incident, never mind 3 or 4, where he saw everything he needed to see, yet took NO action whatsoever?” What could possibly lead to such written comments? By that token, EVERY & ALL incidents where he took no action would of necessity have to be included with a similar explanation & caveat. Else why single out these 3 or 4 incidents?
If the comments were made directly to the Compliance Officer after the game, were they made before or after he became aware that there was some controversy over his failure to take any action against a player representing the team that he supports. (See the footage & pix from the Royal Bar in Bellshill from that evening).
What were the questions asked?
Who (else) was present? Who recorded the questions & the answers?
Exactly what were his answers & what did he claim to have seen & not seen?
Did he really see or only claim that he thought he saw every spect of incident such that the Video Review Panel were excluded from the process?
Since he neither spoke to nor cautioned the player over any incident, he is either incompetent & needs to be downgraded & retrained OR he is lying & did not see everything in all the incidents but merely seeks to negotiate the aftermath to what he sees is his best advantage.
His is a FIFA referee from the Lanarkshire Association – the most powerful such group within the Referees Association. He, the SFA & his Assovciation will all close ranks. They will NEVER downgrade a referee, as we saw from Dougiegate – and things have not changed at all since then.
The SFA is all about power and more particularly about holding onto, not diluting and not sharing that power. The same arguments have occurred before & will again and until the fans of all clubs recognize that they are all being played by the SFA as they divide & conquer behind a ludicrous sham of secrecy which continues only to exacerbate the problem.
HH to all the good guys
According to the PSG website, Weah’ve now got a new Tim.
Woo hoo. Thanks Lennybhoy…
Weah, Burke and Bayo all on the plane to Dubai…
Come on fhellas, let’s crack a smile.
This man from the mountain, I’m sure you’ve all heard tell
Gerard Casey is the name, Rasharkin he did dwell
He fought for his country, he gave up his life
For his family and friends and darling young wife.
David66
Although my 22 year old son and his pals think Defoe would have done us a turn, not me, too old for my liking.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
To return the favour- Defoe is a suggested signing target for them, he hasnt actually signed.
We are going to win this damn league and we’re going to do 10 in a row.
HAIL FKING HAIL. ?
Well the guys who post the old cliche . Well did we sign anybody yet, Naw I didn’t think so, will have to start coming up with something more original..
So we now have 3 players added to the squad while the SFA works team are trumpeting the Summer signing of 2 guys who appear to be Aberdeen level players. Will our malcontents respond?
How long before the MSSM campaign starts for Killie to release WATP Jones?
Invest some proper money in a right back, offload a handful and that will do us for this window.
A centre half or two David.
Anyone tell me why PL is being slaughtered for the Ollie signing.Or is this another bullshit story about Brendan not wanting him,its big bad Peter that wants him.
Bloody grow up.Halfwits.
TURKEYBHOY on 5TH JANUARY 2019 8:09 PM
That`s tellin` `em.
:-)
FOOL TIME WHISTLE on 5TH JANUARY 2019 7:58 PM
The end goal for us should be to ensure that all referees reports are published on the SFA website after each match. That is the transparency we are looking for. Supporters can then understand each and every decision that is made. IMO there is not a hope in hell that will happen but i think we should push it all the way. If PL and Doncaster are as tight as they say they should get the Clubs to push it through the SPFL.
Where anywhere does it say Weah and Bayou have joined.
FTW-excellent post,Beaton would have been ‘coached’,into the ‘seen it ,so I’ve dealt with it’ bollox.HH
TURKEYBHOY on 5TH JANUARY 2019 8:14 PM
Where anywhere does it say Weah and Bayou have joined.
See young and ever reliable Lennybhoy’s posts….
Stairheed-Oops.
D. :)
For all those self congratulating themselves that Celtic have signed 3 players just a wee reminder – hand on heart are any of the 3 of the quality you would wish to see at Celtic and BTW I am making allowances for the market we are forced to work within. Now I am not writing off any of the players and sincerely hope they hit the ground running and turn out to be instant fan favorites. But lets get real bhoys 2 short term loans and a project signed thus far none of who who would automatically displace any of the current squad so ‘haud your wheesht’ until we sign a proven 1st team player – then gloat by all means.
So we have signed an unknown prospect from Slovakia, a player on loan who can’t get a game in the championship for six months and an eighteen year old wean on loan for six months, hardly breaking the bank, still lots of time to eff up deals for the players we really need eh Pedro ;-)
Corkcelt–Have we signed anyone else yet? Apart fae Burke?
Is that better?
D. :)
Sorry – “allegedly” signed 3 players
Oglach
Proven 1st team players, young projects or experienced pros are all a gamble. I posted it as an attempt to break the utter misery the blog has descended into over a lack of activity.
Celtic are my happy place and I choose to see this with my glass half full….
“……………….but APART from that, what have the Roman’s ever done for us, eh? ”
;)
Oglach
Allegedly….That’s even worse ;-)
THE EXILED TIM on 5TH JANUARY 2019 8:20 PM
So we have signed an unknown prospect from Slovakia, a player on loan who can’t get a game in the championship for six months and an eighteen year old wean on loan for six months, hardly breaking the bank, still lots of time to eff up deals for the players we really need eh Pedro ;-)
———
‘Celts seal deal for £15m ace, borrow superstar from PSG and complete deal for Ivorian goal machine.’
Fixed that for you.
OGLACH on 5TH JANUARY 2019 8:18 PM
Do you consider yourself to be better informed about the needs of the Celtic FC playing staff than our current representatives and about the player recruitment and contract choices our Club has seen fit to make ?
Because I`m happy to leave these things to Brendan and the professionals .
D17
Aye, sure ;-)
THE EXILED TIM AND DAVID66,how can you get a settled squad if their is loan signings, when the guy no matter how good he is will be going back to his parent club,.by the way has jimthetim53 been on today, he seemed a bit down yesterday, jim if lurking hope your ok.hh.
And the malcontents do respond. Its now 5 days into a transfer window that only lasts a month and we have still only added three players (according to unofficial CQN reporters) to our squad- terrible
BP1. Loan deals are ok if you have 1 maybe 2 to compliment a good squad/first team.
At some point we need to buy our own players.
D. :)
Fool Time Whistle.
A very well written piece on the current refereeing situation.
Thank you.
David66
I wish we’d only loaned Marvin Compper….. :)
Guys, what is all this malcontents, and 3 or 5 day people on still moaning after signing 3 players.
Surely everyone is entitled to thier own opinion?? On whether the players or timeline (12 months) of negotiations is good enough.
Have we even signed 3 first team players that will better our first team? If so then great.
We still need a couple in though and we have had 12 feckin months to do it.
D. :)
macjay1 for Neil Lennon on 5th January 2019 8:27 pm
OGLACH on 5TH JANUARY 2019 8:18 PM
Do you consider yourself to be better informed about the needs of the Celtic FC playing staff than our current representatives and about the player recruitment and contract choices our Club has seen fit to make ?
Because I`m happy to leave these things to Brendan and the professionals .
====
No, but put it this way nothing that either PL or BR has done in the transfer market recently fills me with a warm fluffy feeling. Now you are going to mention Eddy – but let us be honest he hit and miss one week unplayable then literally unplayable cause he is rotten. If anything both BR and PL have overseen the squad being denuded of skill and ability with oodles of cash being brought in and feck all spent in outlay £0.00. Don’t care who is really at fault – the buck stops with those 2. Do you really believe that 2 short loan deals and a project are the answer?
Every Celtic fan can pinpoint the deficiencies in the squad and to date none of them have been filled by the ‘alleged’ signings. So go on Celtic management and board prove me wrong – please please prove me wrong.
Hope to God that Oli Burke doesn’t read this blog,
damned before he even kicks a ball.
And can we decide is he a Pl or a BR signing ,
or do we need to wait to see if he’s a success first.
Not one fecker in here or even at Celtic can gauge how anyone whether a proven 1st teamer or a project will do once they pull on the jersey THAT IS FACT
I think it’s clear in this day and age, with the plc and it’s hoarding of cash and the exorbitant fees for average players that loan deals MAY be our best option to get quality in, we don’t have any team planning strategy so this seems like the easy option.
I’ll go out on a limb and say they’re better players than the ones we’ll be playing against week in week out. The other 2 parts of the treble are the prize we’re never gonna attempt to be a force within our realms in Europe
Big Wavy– he is an utter disgrace for a football player and another Rafael Shite. In more ways than one.
D. :)
Looks like Bayo & Weah are in so we are half way there, a right back and 2 centre halves & onwards to 8 in a row.