I was, of course, talking about those game changing moments which it exists to highlight; the disputed penalty calls, the red card offences, the “50/50 challenges” which couldn’t be more brutal if someone hacked down one of our players with a battle-axe.
But you know what VAR won’t solve?
The problem we faced today, of an official who purposefully stops play every time a Celtic player wins a challenge, who books a slew of our players and does not apply the same standard to our opponents.
And this was not limited to the shocking display turned into today by “Brother” Bobby Madden; this is happening to us every single week and as I said after the Dundee Utd game it is high time that our club got out from under the bed and challenged the way we’re refereed, which is to a different standard than every other club.
It will continue until we put a stop to it, until our club decisively challenges it, until we get a grip and start demanding that our players are offered the kind of protection which now seems common to any side which comes up against us.
Look at the so-called “crime counts” in our last half a dozen games; more possession than the opposition, more attempts on target, more dangerous attacking plays … and more fouls committed as well.
You’d think that just by dint of trying to stop us and having inferior players to do so that the opposition would commit more and give up more free kicks, but in fact if you based it on fouls given against us you’d think we were the dirtiest team in this league.
Which as anyone who’s watched us knows is ludicrous.
If anything, too many of our players are easily pushed off the ball … but of course the opposition don’t get free kicks given against them for that.
Yet even a player like Kyogo, who doesn’t look like he could fight his way out of a brown paper bag, was penalised several times today for giving away fouls.
Our foul count today was twenty-seven.
Twenty-seven fouls given against us, and a rash of bookings.
Is that an honest reflection on the way we play football, or evidence that Madden was determined to give Aberdeen every opportunity that came his way?
Nobody realistically believes that we are a dirty team, so why do the stats suggest that with such regularity?
I’ve been saying for a while now that there are two ways a referee can influence a game; with a headline act or acts, or this way … insidious, below the radar, allowing fouls to go unpunished against you whilst pulling up your players for every little thing.
It can destroy a team’s momentum. When it results in yellow cards it stops players from being full-throated and aggressive, and when those players are defenders that has an impact on the game in a way that should be obvious.
It is lunacy not to highlight this and it is cowardly not to challenge it.
It’s also dangerous because the longer it goes unremarked on the more they’ll continue to do it.
Madden was given this game after one of those gruesome Honest Mistakes last weekend; he was never going to do something to grab headlines today, although he must have been itching to.
But awarding twenty-seven free-kicks against us and flashing the yellow as he did, well that could have had an impact all on its own, and as I said this is not unusual.
This is every week now, this is as regular as clockwork, and until it’s highlighted properly by the club itself and the manager in particular we’re taking our chances, because it will eventually cost us.
Every time a Celtic player went near a Aberdeen player it was a foul to them. Madden is a hun
That’s where the Celtic board are seriously failing to protect their employees. If they showed a bit of backbone to these corrupt officials we would be at 15 in a row. Maybe more. Problem is if they complained their house could be fire bombed.
We won’t get nothing because all those masonic goat huggers and (brothers) will just close ranks and we will still get fucked by them
To be fair I think we are pressing more aggressively, and when player’s like Aberdeens right back go down like they’ve been shot,it’s an easy decision for a referee that needs no encouragement. My only complaint I’d that they are still giving the fouls away to close to goal. Look at better team’s than us, high press and fouls given away in the opposition half.
He,ll be blackballed down the lodge tonight for allowing Celts to win !
I slightly disagree with you here. Whilst it was plainly obvious that Aberdeen players (Calvin “mooth like a dug’s ersehole” Ramsay especially) were going down with the slightest touch, Celtic were committing too many needless fouls.
Last week, aye the referee was a disgrace with 2 red card incidents let go. Madden was poor today but I’m more mad about last week especially as the MSM were focusing on the penalty they felt Utd should have had with no mention of the two shocking challenges on Celtic players.
It is the responsibility of Ange to call this out. Gerrard is forever moaning about the refereeing in the games involving the huns. I mind the game they got 4 penalties against St Mirren he had the gaul to moan that they should have had 6. That’s what Ange needs to learn because nobody will moan on his behalf.
It has cost us already. The huns get an offside goal against Motherwell, keeper stayed on the park after giving away a penalty against Dundee. Saves said penalty, granted the oncoming reserve keeper might have saved it but they would have been down to ten men with a change in personnel. And as we speak hibs have had a red card and numerous bookings maybe I am paranoid
With the amount of fouls we commit according to the refs we must be the dirtiest team in the spl ??????.
It won’t cost us, it already has, you need look no further than the games we’ve played this season, especially the away ones. Disallowed goals, every tackle a foul against us, bookings for nothing, opposing team judged to a different standard, i’m afraid your arguement applies to all the games we’ve already played, not just todays. Look to the other side of the city, every single game they have won this season has been with the help of their friends in black, they don’t even bother to hide it now. Seldom will you find such cowards as the ones on our board, who have plenty evidence/statistics to back up any complaint, you’d almost think that this state of affairs suits them.
Couldn’t agree more, sickening, no wonder we have so many injuries eh? Turnbull can’t even tackle and he was carded, Jota didn’t touch the boy when he got his. If the Club\manager do and say nothing on this then they are complicit. It’s all part of getting Sevco in to the CL next year and pick up the £40m. Nothing could convince me otherwise. I know what I see and it’s a national disgrace and embarassment. Keep highlighting it.
Angies job is to manage, it’s up to the people who run our club to speak out, as our crooked press would slaughter Ange, if he dared speak up!. Twenty minutes ago my son told me Sevco were a goal down, i told him to wait as Hibs still had to have a man sent off, less than 10 mins later that’s exactly what happened, as i said, they don’t even bother to hide it now. As for silly fouls, Jota is probably wondering how he managed to give away more fouls today then he has in the rest of his career combined!, lol.
The standard of refereeing is generally poor. Conspiracy theories aside, the standard against us is completely shocking, verging on cheating us. We as a club do have to speak out and pose the question of fairness and equanamity of decisions. In the meantime we have to make sure we score the most clear cut goals in every game. p.s. Madden is a disgrace of a referee.
The best player Aberdeen had today was Bobby MADHUN . ( clever cheating today instead of the blatant normal cheating )
MADHUN broke up most of celtics play today every time an Aberdeen player fell he gave them a foul . The thing is nothings ever done about it ,this is the time to ask for explanations when we have won against all efforts of MADHUN.
The thing is there’s probably about a 90% chance of getting a cheating hun official week in week out .
27 fouls against and almosttwo thirds possession that is almost impossible unless you factor in MADHUN.
The old Lanarkshire handshake will not be foiled by VAR. The people reviewing will be of the same ilk and no doubt we’ll see a perfectly good goal chalked off because of something that happened some minutes previously.
Another dodgy red card in the Sevco scums favour,more honest mistakes .
The yellow for turnbull when he let the almost identical foul on the celtic player go without a card just sums uo the whole shambles
This is why sevco will never win The Big Cup. No lanarkshire referees association to aid them in Europe. HH
Celtic have to come at this from a different angle. This is financial fraud in a grand scale, nothing more nothing less. £40 million worth if it helps secure league victory this year with automatic entrance to the European league. What other board would sit back and watch as they were cheated week in week out and do nothing. The shareholders should look into the Board’s incompetence with regards to the effect this has on their investment and see if they have a case to answer in law.
Very well said. Why won’t our board call this out it’s blatant bias
Very well said. Why won’t our board call this out it’s blatant bias it happens most games in Scotland