Q. So you were a Rangers season ticket holder, when did you stop?
A. A few years ago. I work weekends and was seldom getting to games.
Q. How do you feel about how Rangers were treated in 2012?
A. How do any of us feel? It wasn’t our fault, one guy came in and did all the damage, then sinister forces took advantage. Every last one of us feel the same way.
Q. How do you feel about the League Cup semi-final, are you looking forward to it?
A. Not really, but we need to do whatever it takes to make sure we don’t get embarrassed. Years of being subjected to the effects of what Charles Green called “bigotry” means we need to fight with everything we’ve got. We can’t let Celtic embarrass us, need to stand up to them.
Q. Thanks, Robert. One more question, are you available to referee that game?
A. You know me, aye ready!
The forthcoming League Cup semi-final will be one of the most difficult games to referee and police in the history of Scottish football. The police will have their most experience Match Commander on duty. The SFA will not have their most experienced referee on duty, instead they have given the game to former Rangers season ticket holder, Bobby Madden.
The authorities must be independent and be seen to be independent. Former season ticket holders are acceptable and welcome as referees, but when you face extraordinary circumstances, take extraordinary care in selecting your referee. I don’t know a single ‘Rangers’ fan who doesn’t have animated views on what happened in recent years. They want to beat us next month more than at any time in original-Rangers 140-year history. Why is one of them the referee?
Craig Thomson is widely regarded as unaligned and Scotland’s top official. There must be a story explaining why he wasn’t given the game.
Our team selection for the League Cup semi-final doesn’t bother me. We can have Scepovic, Guidetti, Stokes or Griffiths up front, Efe and Charlie at the back, I’d still back us to win. Can’t say I’m too worried about the other lot either, even if they manage to hold onto all their, ‘stars’.
What does concern me is how the game is refereed. Before it, CQN will write about how important it will be to keep 11 men on the field, not to dive into tackles inside our penalty area, and not to get drawn into a levelling battle.
You can write the script about how this one is going to play out, we’ll be kicked, elbowed and incited, with liberal dramatic tumbles taken in and around our box. In a decade writing CQN I’ve only discussed referees around a dozen times but the selection for this one is alarming. Mr Madden will be scrutinised more than at any time in his professional life. He has an enormous challenge ahead.
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Only saw the second half of the inter game last night but what I did see was a pretty committed team who matched juves power and work rate. They also had some talented players and scored a nice goal. I haven’t seen that many teams play so well against juve. Looking forward to a cracking European night next month but I think we are very much the underdogs
P67 – ask Peter how the softly softly approach is going with the SFA?!
Following the self-destruction of our city neighbours, we never had a better opportunity to call out the SFA as being not fit for purpose. Instigate a root and branch reform leading to a transparent, accountable single governing body covering the complete Scottish game.
An end to the blazers and petty vested interests, with more professional and business-savvy people brought in to modernise the game for the benefit of all member clubs.
What we got instead was a cop out which was supposed to lay the foundations for our escape route to God knows where! We’re still stuck in SPhell and we’ve still got the same rank rotten, corrupt, intransigent governing body.
Come back Fergus….!
T4
Just another reason for not attending. Why financially prop up this rigged farce?
Who chose Madden?
Jeezo! They don’t even try to appear even handed now.
So much for ‘honest mistakes’.
Given that Bobby Madden has expressed a fan’s view of what’s happened at Ibrox (and got it wrong), how can he possibly be seen as impartial. Especially when the result of that game means so much to them and probably him.
Only in Scotland.
SJ
Was Madden appointed just to give the Hoardes hope?
Knowing he is one of them, he will do any favours he can? Is his appointment aimed at giving them hope?
Not fit for purpose
Paul67 etal.
Is Madden up for retiring at the end of the season. In years gone by a ref that was up for retiral had the chance to pick a game of their choice, anyway it’s a disgrace that an ex season ticket holder of one of the clubs playing in a semi final of a cup has been chosen to referee the game.
Absolutely shocking news from Paris.
12 shot dead, others critically injured, for ‘insulting Islam’.
They are so evil and barbaric.
Parkheadcumsalford
12:46 on 7 January, 2015
Who chose Madden?
answer Mark Dingwall
OLDTIM67
I reckon he will say that he has never been a season ticket holder at either of the two clubs who will face each other on Feb 1st.
Well,NAW,I don’t. But he would be right.
Cathedral View
For:
Dumb 14 fouls 4 bookings
Sevco 15 fouls no cards
Ref was Brian Colvin
If an ex-Celtic ST holder had been chosen to referee this game, we would have been worried that he would give THEM everything just to prove he was not biased.
I realise the main flaw in my theory is in finding any ref who supports Celtic.
I am actually quite happy that they have chosen Madden. He will certainly favour THEM but we will still win comfortably.
JJ
Absolutely shocking decision to appoint this man to referee this match. However there will be no response from the Quislings that manage our club, to this GIRUY’s from the Hampden bigots. Our lot don’t give a damn about how we feel or the corruption taking place…. They won’t even respond to our concerns ( Doncaster’s Lies !)
Come on SLO JPT ANSWER you emails !!!!!!!
Paul. Who was asking the questions in that Q&A session and is there documentary evidence of it?
Starry……..
From previous article.
Aye indeed. Bound to have contributed to some of those decisions from contributors but support will always wax and wane.
Keep contributin’ – they don’t like it up thum.
HH.
Would it really have made any difference who the ref is . All the same , every last one of them . Just hope the celtic we want turns up .
Is this the same Madden who officiated in the recent 4-0 hun gubbin at the hands of hibs?
Or the semi defeat by utd last season. Or the 1-0 defeat from Stirling?
Untangle yer knickers ffs. ;p
Sinister minister???
Makes Madden look like a die hard Tim.
Geordie munro – good points.
cosy corner bhoy. 10:10 on 7 January, 2015
Murdochbhoy 0807
‘Gerrymandering’. About 65/66 I was Presiding Officer at a local election station when I was asked by the clerks to help a man whowantd to vote but wasn’t on roll. Enquiries solicited he lived in another town but ‘I have a shop in Kilwinning’ /. you are not in Northern Ireland noo,sir. One man one vote’ .
~~~~~~~~~~++~~~~~~~~~~
The worrying aspect of this is that I doubt that would be the first time he had done this. Almost definitely the first time he had ever faced aTimmy Presiding Officer,mind!
Well done.
Geordie Munro
All a ploy.
Laying a trail of innocence until he gets the big one!
(You know it’s twue)
Why are folk on CQN moaning about the referee for the game against the Rangers everyday for the last few years we have moaned about the corrupt football situation in Scotland.Now its Oh No look whos been chosen to referee the game against them in February meanwhile Celtic continue there silent approach.I think personally the only thing Celtic are interested in is money the support may be second but a long way behind money.The question is then ask why cant we fill Parkhead well one of the many reasons is that many Celtic supporters are no longer prepared to pay hard earned money to watch a corrupt game while the club they support appear to either not care about what is going on or are complicit. H.H.
Anyway,it could have been worse.
How about Norris?
Remember his penalty decision in this semi-final?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/17649430
Hibs showed that mob are unable to cope with an opponent passing the ball well and attacking with pace.
If we play like we did against Killie the other night we will hammer them.
Up over.
Lol;)
It wouldn’t matter who reffed the game Imo. Some will still be incandescent with rage at every decision.
Well said , Geordie. There is plenty of evidence to show that Officialdom favoured Rangers but , perhaps, not quite as much as many of us imagine. Hopefully, a bit less now with Sevco than it was with the real Huns (even though Yorkbhoy`s statistics suggest otherwise).
Good point, jimtim.
JJ
Happy new year all cqners
Just a quickie to say congrats to my eldest daughter Mary-Ellen who just passed her driving test today
So proud of my princess
Brill start to the year
Hail Hail
Madden and McLean were seemingly Dallas’ last 2 to be fast tracked under him.
TRAVELLERBHOY
Tell Mary-Ellen she can drive you to drink now,like she has all her life!
Congrats,hope yer fine and dandy,mate.
Travellorbhoy –
Thanks for the warning ;-)
Geordie Munro
Fan anger is bad for the blood pressure.
My doctor says I’m only allowed to get peachy with rage, tops.
No surprise that a former oldco season ticket holder refereeing the semi
Only one institution is more corrupt than the SFA and thats FIFA
Alex Neil in talks over Norwich manager’s job……
Jungle Jim,
We had the same guff when tait was allowed to ref them in his last game.
Coulda pretty much gave them the 10.
How did that end up?
Madden is in a long line of Deidco ST holder’s to referee our games…..
Surprised John Fleming would make such a bad choice as this. There is enough knowledge within the game to know that Bobby Madden has strong allegiances to Ibrox club. McCoist passed his share voting rights to Maddens Supporters club. I hear also a family member was disciplined for addressing a work colleague at Rolls Royce as a Fxxxxx Bxxxxxx
The decision has come from Ogilvie and possible one of the brothers in SFA Ref Admin Dept. Not sure if Brother Herbertson is still around polishing Ogilvies brogues.
Madden is required to referee the semi final in a manner that reduces the gulf between both teams.
All in the name of fair competition.
Fair competition being a main principle
of the SFA. Not.
In all seriousness , despite this being a one
off game ( see what I did there , and guess what team will suffer ) we should wipe the floor with the tribute act.
Keep an eye on the pitch measurement.
Ibrox has a narrower pitch since they started playing full-time teams.
Hampden is a huge pitch.
If we keep eleven players on it , and utilise its width there should not be a problem.
Surely ?
Energy and skill will prevail.
Dontpaniccsc
Is anyone on here aware of any Grade 1 referee who supports Celtic?