If you’ve been following the press today you won’t have missed that they are pulling apart almost every decision from the Motherwell game, looking for a point of controversy. Funny that two incidents are getting almost no mention at all.
The first is the clear handball by a Motherwell play just a second before the one everyone in the media is highlighting involving Bolingoli.
Now our defender handles the ball, there is no question about that whatsoever, but it amazes me that amidst the analysis of that incident that nobody has spotted – or wants to acknowledge more like – the one preceding it.
Watching the BBC highlights was especially hilarious. They actually slowed the incident right down, circled our player and zoomed in so that the slow-motion replay wouldn’t catch the Motherwell player doing the exact same thing.
I find that quite incredible. Both incidents are as clear as a bell but one – and only one – is being picked up by the press, and the thing is, of course, that if the first is a foul then the second one isn’t a penalty at all because it’s a free kick to Celtic.
Almost as obvious was the tackle by Bevis Mugabi on David Turnbull – which didn’t even draw a card as incredible as that is – and which you can watch here and which nobody whatsoever appears to want to discuss.
But the BBC – who I’ll be talking about later – did want to talk about an alleged foul by Kyogo in the lead-up to our goal, and now some of the press have highlighted this incident as well. I just find it absolutely incredible what they choose to care about and not.
The narrative around this now is that we’ve somehow lucked out this weekend; the Motherwell manager thinks that the penalty decision would have “changed the game.” It would have had to, their team – the home team remember – hadn’t had a shot on target up until that point and we were 2-0 to the good with plenty left in the tank.
We strolled that match at the weekend. Strolled it.
But the press is trying to paint a picture of a game in which we’d have struggled had the ref been up to par; as I said yesterday, if anyone wants to do something about bad refereeing and our lamentable standards the Celtic fans will be all for it.
What we won’t support, or accept, is one sided scrutiny from a media too gutless to look at other decisions elsewhere and is all too comfortable highlighting the ones we get.
Bevis Mugabi straight red and both players handled the ball and don’t listen to the Scottish media for year’s simply rotted to the core
The narrative that aribo wasnt moving forward at pace before his studs up tackle on the hearts player and failure to show it on the bbc, is even more laughable when you consider christie was sent off under the exact same circumstances at livvy. Just listened to the acsom podcast and all 3 saying they dont think there is refereeing bias.. what are these people talking about !
Just keep winning and when we have all the injured players back and fit all wanting to play which is a good thing and hope we can challenge the bigots for the leauge early days yet but we are fighting on 2 fronts 1 the opposition 2 the corrupt refs.as for the media i don’t really read the $hite they write in the scottish blue rags or listen to the blue pundits on the telly.and they don’t know how to handle ange mate.
Why does anyone buy they toilet papers they are just Masonic s: um
Controversial but I don’t believe referee’s are based they are just really incompetent
The narrative is not simply that we lucked out, but that there is refereeing and SFA/SPFL bias for Celtic. They’re bricking it because they can see that their rankers aren’t gonna be good enough on the park. Its the usual deflection.
They are preparing and positioning their excuses already not only in fear of us winning the league, getting that CL group position and potentially their financial demise but also apportioning the blame for it all on other people so as to play the victim card when it happens.
Video needed with Turnbull challenge as should be no problem as to what should have been playing player Down.
Also why once again nothing about aribo challenge, now if they were doing it in the situation where the hearts players made that challenge.
Really don’t believe that they would have ignored it then somehow.