Soccer Football - Copa Libertadores - Semi Final - First Leg - Gremio v Flamengo - Arena do Gremio, Porto Alegre, Brazil - October 2, 2019. Referee Nestor Pitana during the VAR review. REUTERS/Sergio Moraes
The boss was perfectly calm last night when he was asked about the latest VAR disgrace, but this is a smart man who already knows how it goes here.
He knows that they would love him to launch a full-scale broadside against the refs.
They would hand him a touchline ban without the least hesitation.
Some people – Gerrard, in his first weeks in the job – can allege that the SFA has something against their club.
Others, who work at Celtic, cannot.
This smart man can also see, quite clearly, what is going on here. Decisions against us are piling up like a drug lord’s fortune. (That’s not a David Martindale reference, but it never hurts to remind people, you know?) He knows that there is a different rule-book when it comes to our club; he has to know that. He can smell what’s wafting in the air.
But where Ange cannot go there are others at our club who can easily raise the ruckus. The club itself could announce its continuing frustration via its public channels without even putting someone’s name on the bottom of the press release. It is becoming increasingly obvious that unless such a public statement is made that this will continue.
I recognise that Celtic is a more professional club than some others in this country, and in particular those who release statements like clockwork whenever they want to deflect.
We don’t do that and the club assures us that behind the scenes we do what we need to.
The trouble with that is that sometimes fans want – sometimes fans need – to see something more visible. And you know something? Sometimes the guy in the dugout needs to see that too.
He knows where the line is, and what the consequences are for crossing it and after a while a club which does not speak up and say the things he can’t is hanging the man out to dry.
Fans are increasingly sick of this, and nobody at Celtic Park should be underestimating that either.
We want to support our club, but it’s difficult enough to get people to shell out their hard earned money at a time like this without them having the very real belief that they are paying to watch a rigged game.
Fans just won’t stand for that.
How much of it should we have to stomach? Some of us have been screaming about the need for SFA reform since the full scale of the 2012 scandal was uncovered. If they were willing to do those things to protect the Ibrox operation, what else might they be willing to do?
We know the entire league was railroaded into the Sky deal of 2011 out of a need to protect Ibrox; it was the threat that was supposed to see the NewCo start life in the top flight.
Our club either did nothing or failed to accomplish its goals.
And then these directors slept at the wheel whilst the second Ibrox club financially doped its way to another title when we’d spent the better part of a decade screaming about the need to stop that.
What’s it going to take? The lead is nine points.
When does this board wake up? When it’s down to six? Four? Three? One? Or when Ibrox is crowing about an impossible “comeback”? You think it couldn’t happen. How much would you gamble on it?
It’s all very well asking the team to just keep winning in spite of it … but the bottom line is that this stuff shouldn’t be allowed to happen in the first place. So what if we can keep on pushing the boulder up the hill? Anyone who is comfortable putting the manager and these players in that position isn’t serving the best interests of Celtic.
Before VAR, the SFA and our club had the same fig-leaf to hide behind; officials sometimes make mistakes.
But what we’re witnessing is so blatant that it becomes impossible to ignore it. It wasn’t only one decision last night. There were two clear-cut penalties we didn’t get as well as the goal getting chopped off.
Even on its own its horrendous.
Placed in the context of what we have been watching for the last few months it’s indefensible.
Should put video up on all incidents against us and them it’s clear to see in plain sight
I think Celtic by numbers is keeping a running total, it’s not only Celtic being cheated, it’s Sevco also receiving weekly help to hang on our coat tails. The double whammy is huge, these referee’s are better than a 10 million pounds striker. It’s becoming so farcical that the referee’s are more influential than the players on the par. The media are supporting it and at the ready to muddy the waters while our game is a laughing stock. To accept this and do nothing, normalises the cheating and will only encourage more cheating.
Action needs to be taken and the responsibility unfortunately has to come down to the paying fans. Celtic fans are being tested, how much are they willing to accept?
Demand the club take action and review at season ticket renewal time, the one window when they have the power. Really sad it has to come to this but our gutless custodians has done nowhere near enough.
Since the introduction of Var, Celtic supporters are angry and frustrated at the blatant cheating they are now watching.
Also obvious from Ange’s after match interviews the guy feels referees, and Var team are bias against the club.
I’m in no doubt, in fact he has already said he won’t comment on Var, as he would leave that to others at the club.
Really hope the board dont piss the big man off, and are doing something about this behind the scenes.
If they are the message has not got through yet.
Board don’t care as long as the old firm plc keeps us in profit and the cash registers full ????
Bored reading the same shit, yes they are cheating bstrds. I bet if we were 4 goals ahead we would have got that or those penalties.
We are not helping by shit meaningless pass sideways.
The cross that was deflected is how we will beat parked busses.
If the Huns were playing against parked busses they would run into the nearest defender shove a leg one way and dive the othe.
Let’s get wise to these arseholes. It’s fkn easy, let’s play the same way.
Nicholson asked for patience with VAR just the other day, our board sleep walks while we are cheated, YET AGAIN
I agree with this article, my take on the dodgy decisions are as follows. We have not lost any points so far, this will not be always the case, when we do they are going to need tin helmets on for the flack justifiably coming their way. Sevco the most penalties for and least against. Var is an assault on Celtic.
Celtic are doing nothing behind the scenes, nothing is changing. If they are so useless at standing up for Celtic then they should take themselves off the park and get someone in with a backbone..
5 way agreement has the Celtic boards hands tied.
Not to worry Mr Lawwell’s on the way back so the silence will continue.
It is long overdue that Celtic Football Club stand up against the blatant misuse of VAR. No SMSM will address this as it is clearly helping the Ibrox club and the continuous incidents that have wrongly gone against Celtic are dismissed without comment.The referee on 2nd January is the Huns go to man for aiding and abetting and he will be shameless about doing so.It will be only a matter of time we are robbed of points, it’s time to call it out.
If Ange calls out the VAR / referee catastrophe in this country ,it automatically becomes a game changer instantly! Someone who understands the rules ,regulations and the like … Someone who intelligently expresses the anger of the club adequately….Someone who can put any Scottish scoop in his / her box when required at ease ….These abhorrent decisions on a game by game basis by match officials will soon begin to fester if left unaddressed ! We all know what happens when the scab is picked at … don’t we …