The job of referee has a kind of inverse relationship between popularity and career progress. Willie Collum has been at the centre of this season’s three major controversies. He was referee on two occasions when his assistants failed to notice Celtic conceded a goal in crucial league games against Rangers and Hearts (on each occasion the ball crossed the line by inches and remained there for a small fraction of a second).
There is very little a ref can do when his assistant doesn’t flag when the ball crosses the goal line, as we all know, but Collum still suffered reputational damage from some who simply blamed him for being in charge when ‘goals’ against Celtic were not awarded by assistant referees.
It takes a brave decision for a ref to award an injury time penalty for a team losing by a goal in a cup final. As we noted yesterday, Anthony Stokes clearly had his ankle clipped when clean through with Cammy Bell to beat on Sunday while the Kilmarnock defender never came close to the ball. This was a foul any day of the week, but having been in charge when Celtic benefited from assistant referee decisions, Collum booked Stokes instead of awarding a penalty.
This incident was almost identical to Collum’s decision not to award Celtic a penalty in the infamous game away to Hamilton Accies in 2011. With five minutes of the game remaining Niall McGinn was tripped inside the box but Collum booked the player.
The offside rule was subject to a new and unique interpretation that day. Hamilton ‘scored’ from a set piece with a player alone inside the six yard box who jumped over the ball. He was in an offside position by several yards and stood in front of Fraser Forster before allowing the ball to pass under him. Collum also sent off James Forrest for blocking a clearance in an incident which caused a Hamilton player to kick his boot.
All of this followed the infamous incident at Celtic Park when despite looking the other way, Collum awarded Rangers a penalty when Kirk Broadfoot stumbled in the vicinity of Daniel Majstorovic.
Without enjoying the light of robust critical analysis of refereeing decisions that happens in most other countries I’m not sure where we go with any of this. Celtic Quick News called both ‘goal’ incidents against Rangers and Hearts as assistant referee mistakes so it is only appropriate we record Mr Collum’s significant mistakes when refereeing Celtic, while we ponder the formula for career progression among Scotland’s referees.
I know we covered the issue of Duff and Phelps needing to talk-up any possibility of nullifying Ticketus ownership of future season tickets, Craig Whyte’s security over Ibrox of HMRC being prepared to accept a few pennies in the pound (before HMRC issued a rare statement about the important of paying your tax, “football club or not”), so apologies for repeating myself, but….
Duff and Phelps have agreed no deal with HMRC. Ticketus retain ownership of future season tickets and the recent court challenge appears to offer little threat, while Craig Whyte retains his security. In addition, Duff and Phelps have received no offer for Rangers with terms which are within their control.
So, apart from having no offers they can accept, no stadium to sell, no control over future season ticket sales, no agreement with HMRC and having absolutely no idea what they will do when player contracts revert to their full value on 1 June, Duff and Phelps job is pretty easy.
Right now they need to keep all their plates in the air. The very least we should do is cut them some slack as they endeavour to work the angles.
Issue 7 of CQN Magazine is out now! Go to the dedicated magazine site here to read it properly (which you’ll not be able to do below).
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Have you got what it takes to be a Scottish sports’ journalist?
Try this quiz.
1. A ‘source’ is;
A. an insider in a team with whom you’ve established a relationship, and who gives you an invaluable insight into the inner workings of the team.
B. a meal ticket.
C. brown or red.
2. ‘Confidentiality’ is:
A. your guarantee to anyone who wishes to disclose dodgy or underhand dealings within their organisation.
B. a male fragrance
C. something to do with your teeth.
3. ‘Fairness’ is
A. even handed treatment based on honesty
B. someone from Inverness
C. a shade of blonde
4. A ‘scoop’ is
A. a story that you’ve been working on tirelessly and it exposes corruption, maladministration, discrimination, wrongdoing or dubious behaviour amongst people who pretend to know better
B. a single cone
C. a fondly remembered implement from the Woolworths’ pik ‘n’ mix
5. ‘Principles’ are
A. rules of life, without which you couldn’t function
B. stars of musicals
c. Head teachers
6. ‘Morals’ are
a. Innate, immutable rules which guide your thoughts and actions
b. Islands off the west coast
C. between pakora and bajee on the take-away menu
7. Ally McCoist is
A. the Rangers’ manager with a worse record than John Greig
B. a cheeky chappie who laughs in the face of adversity and you just don’t know how he does it!
C. the guy you’d climb over your partner to get to.
8. Rangers are:
A. the most corrupt, despicable, reprehensible and blatant cheats who have shamed the very idea of fair play and competition.
b. Parkies with vans
C. the most sinned against and misunderstood institution in the whole world!
9. Walter Smith is:
A. a manager who knew what was going on when he signed players on £30,000 per week, despite the club not being able to earn enough to cover it.
B. a guy in a cardie who just wants to read a book
C. the guy you’d climb over Ally to get to
10. The SFA is:
A. organised along the lines of the Hellfire club when it comes to accountability
B. a German supermarket chain
C. a group of gentlemen who deserve your respect because they wear blazers just like your old man’s boolin’ blazer!
How did you do?
Mostly A: Journalist!?! Not in this country matey!
Mostly B: You’re on the cusp (that means edge) of being a fabulous controversialist Scottish journalist!
Mostly C: Chick, Jabba, Dawwell!!!
@officialthom · Open
@alextomo Campbell Ogilvie Rangers director during EBT and SFA President conflict of interest in investigation? #bestpartofstory
alex thomson @alextomo Close
@officialthom oh yes – coming up soon.
magic.
The Lizard King
This isn’t about the integrity of the game. It’s about the collective superior mentalities in Scotland refusing to be undone by the wee gang of ‘internet zealots’. Whatever it takes. A lot of machismo refusing to accept being outed by the enemy. So to hell with what is right. Every wee club with an institutionalised contempt for anything green can shout ‘I’m Spartacus and we paid cash in hand once or twice’ and we can draw a line and move on. If that is indeed the plan here then where are my golf clubs? This is a farce.
Baba
No Effin wee guys sounds better. Fair doos you saw the funny side!! Always say if you cant laff at ursel da de da de da.
I need to stop drinking.
Her Majesty is now my favorite auld person and i watch her tv appearances with devotion. looked respendant on the news there.
Knowing full well her Revenue & Customs need to gather in duties owed for the Jubilee
oh and offcourse she is actually a republican herself.
wishing to retire to a country estate in Ireland, without all the hassle of tax dodging bassa’s on the mainland.
jude,
Jinky,Henke,Maradona and Messi;i’m in good company.Mon eh wee guys! ;-)
Matthew Lindsay seems a wee bit upset at the Channel 4 news report. What has got his goat?
Hey saintstivs I like her as well she given it goodnproppa to the huns now but she doin ma nut in askin for a ticket fur sunday, textin all the time when I don’t have one myself, surely she must have some contacts in the huns end but maybe she doesn’t want to be associated with them.
What about big guy syndrome?
Every insecure tossed who happens to be six foot three making everyone’s life a misery.
Much more common (said the wee guy).
Now here is an interesting wee blog featuring RFC
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/17430072
Tossed = tosser
Rascar Capac on 20 March, 2012 at 23:37 said:
What about big guy syndrome?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Marty Feldman has big eye syndrome. ;-)
I keep thinking of the East Stirling player banned for 14 matches (or whatever) for man handling the ref, of Gordon Smith railing against some Div 3 player for diving and influencing a disciplinary process and Spartans thrown out the SFA Cup for not properly dating a player registration.
You look around and there is no one – politicians, football administrators, the courts, the police, the media. No one wants to do the right thing.
And they call us zealots, bampots, bad people, fantasists.
Well I’m right up for this, supporting all those on the front like our good host.
HH
TLK
Baba
:o)
BTW…as they slug the champers in Parliament while they lick H.M.’s rear orifice,The NHS is being destroyed by The ConDems against the wishes of 80% of the population. This is scandalous.
So why will we not be surprised if “the queen’s eleven” slither out of the morass?
The whole world is run by a corrupt cabal of the fascist variety…why should we be surprised by Ragers and their ilk?
I’m an old cynic,and a cynic is nothing more than a disillusioned idealist.
The only ideals I still believe in are those embodied by Celtic. My tribe.
Brogan Rogan Trevino and Hogan supports Kano 1000 on 20 March, 2012 at 23:37 said:
Now here is an interesting wee blog featuring RFC
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/17430072
>>>>>>>><<<<<<<
interesting indeed! broken windows etc.,….oh well,hunnery is hunnery…
and a big BBBBBBUUUUUUUUZZZZZZZZZ
goes out to DJBEE
It does look like Scottish football is corrupt to its core.
But I don’t think London really cares much about the brotherhood up here, so I can’t see them getting out of this mess.
Interesting slant to the independence debate though.
What would Edinburgh do with the huns?
Someone mentioned Jimmy Saville. Maybe we could get Jimmy to investigate Scottish Football. Remember him running round the track at Paradise, couldn’t do any
worse than the intrepid reporters we have now.” So so what is it,what is the hampden with these second ahh these undisclosed al say it again these undisclosed second contracts that your ex ex director is mentioning guysngals guysngals mmm.”.
Paulino Alcantara.
rumoured to have said “i am just the 1910’s Henrik Larsson”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paulino_Alc%C3%A1ntara
From FF
Chairman- T Hilti
Secretary- R Stewart
Belfast Rep- J G len
P.R -Jim Wilson
Media(Facebook etc)- Graham Barr
MINUTES FROM RANGERS ‘TIL I DIE N.I MEETING
14th March 2012
The meeting of Rangers ‘Til I Die, Northern Ireland was opened by Steering group Chairman Thomas Mathers.
The Chairman welcomed Club Delegates and Quests Sandy Jardine and Jim Hannah from Rangers.
Local politicians Danny Kennedy, MLA Gregory Campbell, MP Michael Copeland, Brian Kingston – representing Nigel Dodds, MLA and Linfield Vice President B Kenney were also present.
Minutes from previous meeting on 7th March2012 were read out by Secretary R. Stewart.
Delegates were asked to leave contact details so a council could be formed to work on the way forward on fund raising for the fighting fund.
Sandy Jardine took to the floor explaining the position of the Club re: finance and the administrators.
Jim Hannah then explained position re: The Rangers Supporters Assembley and the fighting fund.
B. Kennedy, Linfield Vice Chairman, informed the meeting that a benefit match between Linfield and Rangers would take place on a date to be arranged, with all proceeds after expenses going to Rangers.
Danny Kennedy, MLA Gregory, MP Michael Copeland, Brian Kingston – representing Nigel Dodds all spoke pledging support for Rangers Till I Die, N.I effort.
Jim Wilson P.R advised the meeting of ideas on fund raising that the steering group had already initiated.
It was agreed that we would move forward on Ribbons to raise a bit of capital and then purchase Rosettes and or Wristbands, which would be sold at the Rangers v Linfield game.
There was then a short Q& A which was as follows.
Q1. Could Rangers put a temporary stop on Season tickets and have people paying for tickets ?
A. It was agreed that this was hard logistically and it was also hard asking people to pay an extra £50-£60 per month for tickets.
Q2.Could Rangers have more of a fan ownership.
A. Jim Hannah replied that this may be an option as in a shares issue but would need to wait as The Administrators where running the club at present.
Q3.The matter of other fundraising ventures such as Gersave etc was raised and would these be suspended during The Rangers Fighting Fund was going.
A.Jim Hannah answered that, although they may not be suspended, a mass email would be sent out to back R.F.F and that Rangers wanted all fundraisers to concentrate on Rangers Fighting Fund.
Q4. It was asked about the media report that legally Rangers may not be in Administration.
A. This could or could not be confirmed as it was a pending court case.
Q5. The Chairman raised concerns about the hatred shown towards Rangers by, The S.F.A, Media, other clubs and other supporters and that the P.R at Rangers was very poor to say the least.
A. Sandy Jardine explained that it was hard to have a P.R during Murrays reign as it was his way or no way.
And that Currently there was no real P.R in place as The Administrators are running the club, but the P.R was a major concern from all Supporters Groups and this needed to be addressed after we come out of Administration
Delegates then gave donations to treasurer Sammy Douglas MLA that would finance the fund raising effort.
There being no further business the meeting was closed.
R. Stewart
Secretary
This was some meeting. The “Quests” must have been mighty impressed. The Q and A was obviously the jewel in the crown. Answer to Q1 gave us the literary gem “hard logistically.” Answer to Q2 reveals that “The Administrators where running the club at present.” While the response to Q4 confirmed that it is not known whether the club is administration. Mind boggling!
BRTH
Is there a number (& code) to donate by text , A great way of helping.
Good night Timland
HAIL HAIL
off to bed.
countdown conundrum.
does
anyone
know
a
handsome hun ?
DJBEE on 20 March, 2012 at 23:53 said:
Someone mentioned Jimmy Saville. Maybe we could get Jimmy to investigate Scottish Football. Remember him running round the track at Paradise, couldn’t do any
worse than the intrepid reporters we have now.” So so what is it,what is the hampden with these second ahh these undisclosed al say it again these undisclosed second contracts that your ex ex director is mentioning guysngals guysngals
————————————————————————————————-
Not much chance of that mate, jimmy passed away last october, god rest his soul.
leftclicktic
Yes you can donate by texting CURE50 £x to 70070
http://www.justgiving.com/NiamhsNextStep
two pages of donations by Celtic fans so far.
Thanks Very much to all. If you do donate make sure you mention CQN or Celtic so that the family know just who the greatest team on the planet are!
Cheers
Brogan
Jimmys in Paradise!!
St Stivs
Is Pippa Middleton’s bottom a hun?
Iain Anderson playing lots of Irish tonight on Radio Scot.
Does anyone know a handsome hun?
That age old question.
I will sleep on it?
In 40 odd years I can give a firm no, but I am open to suggestions.
Do aliens exist or are we asking the wrong question?
Rascar Capac on 21 March, 2012 at 00:11 said:
St Stivs
Is Pippa Middleton’s bottom a hun?
—————-
the two sisters are too too skinny.
need the taxes paid up .
See that rankers meeting was it in masonic ludge? Im sure ive been in it. Drinks always cheep cheep in them ludges!!
Who’s pippa midelton??
Night all.
Tonight’s revelations were nothing we didn’t expect, and indeed nothing we, here and elsewhere, didn’t already know, but they are indicative of something we’ve been talking about for a long, long time. That is, the cosy relationship which exists between one club, the football authorities and the media.
We have an unhealthy football culture here in Scotland. I have long argued that. I wrote, at length, on the subject both for E-Tims and MonTheHoops, under the pseudonym Che Timvara. More than once, I bemoaned the lack, not of transparency, which was self evident, but of any scruples when it came to the outright pushing of one clubs agenda.
The problem we have here is very, very simple. For far too long, every single position of any importance in the game in this country was being held, or is still held, by someone with a connection to Rangers.
We have the players union, run by an ex-Rangers man and motivated more, in the recent crisis, by the survival of the club than by the well-being of his own members. The same man actually spoke out against the “conduct” of a number of Celtic players who were members of his union and ultimately were relying on his support, and he has been a notorious defender of indefensible behavior from players at Ibrox, in the guise of “doing the job.” Where was his moral stance, where was his protective arm, when racist abuse was poured on Aiden McGeady? Answer; he was nowhere. And the same man had the brass neck to be the public face of a campaign against racism that same year, after uttering not one word in support of our then player.
We had the Chief Executive’s job in the hands of an ex-Rangers man, one with a history of anti-Catholic rhetoric, who proved himself utterly incapable of doing the job. Why, then, did he get it? He did not fit any of the criteria in the SFA’s job description, which was posted on their website. As a former player, agent and broadcaster, he might have known something about football itself, but he knew nothing about football governance and, in post, was an embarrassment, doing everything from making racist remarks against other member associations to making up rules as they suited him … which many suspect led to his sudden departure from post before a motion to remove him was placed before the SFA general council.
The former President, George Peat, had a history of pro-Rangers and anti-Celtic behavior, including sitting on the “internal committee” which originally cleared Jim Farry, all the way up to offering to cancel the national cup final, without asking the other finalists, during Rangers Manchester run. His behavior towards Celtic was so egregious that Paul McBride had to demand his removal from a hearing he should not even have been in, and he presided over a scandal involving the clearing of Rangers players from the Shame Game which prompted McBride to state, plainly, was “thoroughly dishonest.”
The current President is Campbell Ogilvie, beneficiery of a tax scam, former Rangers director throughout a period of routine mendacity and with-holding of official paperwork and who set up a similar scheme and, for all we know, an identical system of non-disclosure at Hearts.
We have a media filled to the rafters with former Rangers players. We have a man in the Rangers managers office who made his name outside football in a media background, and has an altogether far more cosy relationship with the scribes than our own manager has ever heard or is ever likely to have. We have a dependancy culture in the press, built around stories from inside the Blue Room, which they are fighting hard to protect, even at the expense of the whole national sport.
We have what Alex Thomson has described as a “revolving door” relationship between these three groups, and it has been, for years, to the severe detriment of everyone in Scottish football. And now, that same relationship will attempt to excuse 20 years of corruption as if it is nothing more than the mere overlooking of some paperwork.
When Gordon Smith was at the SFA he presided over the case of Dunfermline, who were kicked out of the Scottish Cup for several administrative errors relating to their game against Stenhousemuir. A year later, the same organisation kicked Spartans out of the tournament for failing to put two dates on a form, instead of one. In 2008, Brechin was similarly expelled for paperwork snafus. The SFA’s line on eligibility of players is harsh, and forceful … yet why do I get the feeling they will attempt to let Rangers off lightly?
For the first time in the history of corporate scandal, directors both current and former are not hiding behind an organisation. The organisation is hiding behind them. Only in Scotland could this be allowed to happen, and only to Rangers, who are suddenly not a club which has been engaged in long-running tax fraud, illegal registration of players and criminal behaviour, but are actually, really, the victims in all this … If this train of thought is allowed to dominate, Scottish football is dead and buried.
Let’s not beat around the bush. Whilst the media and people within the SFA are arguing these are failures of policy, of governance, what is really at stake here is the common good of the game. What has taken place here is not simple failure to govern but willful deceit. People did not look where they did not want to look. There were too many compromising connections at the top of the game, too many people involved with the club at the centre of all this. What this looks like is an enormous corporate and sporting scandal, unlike anything we have ever seen. The people at the highest echelons of the game here have either deliberately looked the other way or have been conniving partners in this fraud.
Some people have mooted Truth & Reconciliation, and I am utterly opposed to it in the form they suggest. They seek to get people around the table, where they can apologise to each other, for sins past. All the apologising will be done from one group, at one club, and for one purpose; to avoid the consequences which would be coming their way in any other association in the game.
The only way in which the game in Scotland can recover its reputation is to deliver hammer blows of justice against Rangers Football Club. The governing bodies must not simply demonstrate a willingness to govern, but a willingness to cut the ties once and for all which have created the menage-a-trois of media, Rangers and Association which have led to these crises.
Rangers punishment must be the apocalyptic maximum penalties; the scrapping of trophies, the removal of points, relegation to a lower division and fines running into the millions. And after all of that, if other clubs wish to pursue cases against Rangers for loss of earnings etc at the Court of Arbitration in Sport, the SFA must not object or deter those efforts in any way.
This is what is required if the game in this country is to heel. Anything less will result in the eyes of the world fixing, once more, on this odd little footballing backwater and the behavior of its governing body and one of its largest clubs. And if they did not see corruption before, the sight of Rangers, absolved of responsibility for its debts, forgiven for its multiple breaches of the rules, and still in its prominent place at the heart of a scandalised dependancy culture, will leave them in no doubt at all as to what the sport in Scotland is designed to do.
It will formally, officially, and undisputedly exist for the benefit of, promotion of and sustenance of one club and one club alone.
And if that happens, they can count myself and millions of other fans OUT. That is not sport. It is neither fair not transparent. It respects no rules, it follows no logic, it observes no consistency and it promotes dishonesty and cheating. It puts the well-being of one club before the well-being of the whole game. It disgraces our national sport and destroys its reputation.
I want no part in something like that.
Little by little, the message is getting through. Bit by bit, the wall of lies is crumbling. Piece by piece, we are exposing these people for what they are and this situation for what it is.
Ogilvie’s position is now untenable, and so is that of the SFA if they attempt to allow Rangers the leeway they have not granted other clubs. Hugh Adam tonight was another piece of evidence, but not a crucial piece. The evidence exists already in the words of Campbell Ogilvie and David Murray.
Both have admitted the EBT’s exist, that there was one contract only for the players at Rangers. One contract. Detailing payments to players. If those players were paid by another source, whether a loan or salary, whether contracted or not, if those disclosures were not made to the SFA then the case against Rangers is a proven fact, and the proof of it is already in the SFA’s hands … not in documents they have in their possession … but in those they DON’T.
Regan can ask for all the paperwork he likes; that is a smokescreen. The issue is not paperwork at hand, but paperwork NOT in his hands, and it does not take the findings of the FTT to prove the case. All the FTT will do is reveal the names of the players who were paid, and then the task is simply to reverse the results in each and every game an unregistered player took part in.
Bit by bit, piece by piece, it is all coming out. There is no stopping it now. For the last week I have been referring to Rangers in posts as Chernobyl FC, and that’s the name I’ll give them until these matters are resolved.
The efforts of Regan and others are like trying to cap a Chernobyl style disaster with a thimble. This cover story cannot hold.
Great Post James Forrest!!!!
As for Pippa Middleton…… have you seen a handsome bum?
http://www.justgiving.com/NiamhsNextStep
Thinking about the independence issue again.
Do the Unionists really know what they want?
London constrains them, with reason and fairness.
I have voted SNP for years now, before that it was Labour.
I want to be sure of these people, and now I’m undecided.
JF,
Top drawer brother.
RC,
Don’t trust them.Snake oil salesmen.
James Forrest
I’m realy tired and off to bed now but I stood up in my living room and clapped that piece.
The C4 piece was not for us, we (you, Paul67, RTC, Phil McG etc) are leading this but the rest of the world is slowly becoming aware.
Right BED and thanks.
HH
TLK