Yesterday, the ex-ref Steve Conroy gave a scathing assessment of the VAR decision last week.
He, of course, thinks that it was a penalty. I’ll do something on that later.
For now, I want to focus on the comments by Frank McAvennie, which are online today.
McAvennie talks arrant nonsense 99% of the time, but as they say, even a broken clock is correct twice a day and this is where he hits it on the nose. He has already been dismissed for stoking a conspiracy theory.
Funny how no-one ever levels this charge at anyone from Ibrox when they come out with the same thing.
Steven Gerrard himself did it whilst manager there.
Of course, he was never disciplined for it for “bringing the game into disrepute” and nobody in the media had a go at him for it.
Not only has McAvennie hit this one square on the nut, but he’s made a couple of points which I believe those who are giving him stick will find it very hard to argue with.
“It has happened for years,” he said. “When I played, the gaffer used to say we will get nothing off the referee. It is going way back. There is no way it is a coincidence. It does not matter that VAR is in … [Smith] stopped the ball with his hand and we got nothing, and that is with VAR. It is just not right. I get how the referees can miss things but not the people watching it. The whole world saw it was a penalty. It is just a laughing stock.”
As if those points weren’t on the nose enough, he then went on to talk about the astounding fact that it is now almost 200 days since we were last awarded a penalty in the league.
“I just find it strange that we have not had any, especially with the amount of attacking play that they have got. There would be one or two.”
And he’s correct about that, of course.
It is not just the handball which, as he rightly points out, is a laughing stock level decision … when you put it in context with that remarkable statistical fact you cannot possibly believe that it is a coincidence.
You look at that decision at the weekend and you cannot but fail to see it as anything other than a part of a pattern. McAvennie’s comments about previous Celtic bosses puts this in its historical context; it is amazing – it is shocking – how little has changed.
Even the media knows is right but they won’t back him
The bookies know.
I believe some of them aren’t even taking bets on the huns getting penalties in Scottish games any more.
Funnily enough the same doesn’t apply to Celtic, the most attacking team in Scotland for decades, yet no pens since April and consistently awarded fewer spot kicks than the huns EVERY season.
Indeed they are below all the other teams in the country in this regard except Ross County.
We all know that if the hand ball incident at the weekend involved the huns there would have been no hesitation, Tavpen would have taken it and it wouldn’t have raised an eyebrow.
So when Sutton Hartson and McAvennie call it out they are pilloried by the SMSM as being paranoid and living in the bad old days.
Well, the bad old days are still here, and we need the likes of these 3 and social media to counterbalance the overwhelming number of hun fanboys in Scottish television, radio and press football coverage, where everything is reported from a one sided viewpoint in favour of you know who. This one sided media bias exists in only one country that I know of.
A country where corrupt, compromised or incompetent officials are not only defended but enabled by the media, and unforgivably by the Celtic board, who maintain an undignified silence throughout.
Paranoid? We aren’t paranoid enough.
Something is rotten in Scottish football.
Had to laugh at Madden saying the incident should have been a penalty. Celtic 1 The Rangers 1 . Minutes after “The” had equalised , near the end of the game, the “The” centre half who had just scored scythed down Griffiths in the box as he was about to score. Madden four metres away and with a clear view decided………. No I’ll not tell you what happened next, I’ll let you guess. Don’t need him to put his tuppence worth in, if he never returns then that’s still too soon.
Yeah and in same game the weasel that is miller flew in 2 footed to do Armstrong in first 5 minutes not even a card! It was an atrocious challenge that could ened his career! Place is full of it of! All dallas disciples a man sacked for sectarian emails ! During the Pope visit in 2010! What a weirdo wee bigoted land full of hate and twisted poisonous orcs!! A sickness this is riddled with enablers all over! Scandalous really is, glad I come and go from brigadoon Scotland!
Would it not be best for the Celtic board to call it out? Don’t hold your breath!!
We know
Aberdeen will be cheated tomorrow one way or another fact
Anybody else see that numpty Kris Boyd on sky sports make a sarcastic remark about VAR on the game he was commentating on !! His little sickly smile on how great VAR is !!
Yeah it’s great …well blue noses will be well top of the league with pens at the end of the season (( they normally are of course )) but they will be sick of them by the end .
Still won’t win naff all .