I take a perverse amount of satisfaction tonight in the foot-stamping fury of Derek McInnes and others at the nature of the “penalty decision” Kilmarnock did not get today.
In a match where we had the ball in the net four times but only got two goals it would take someone pretty brazen to claim that Kilmarnock deserved more than they got … but that’s what the narrative will be.
I’m literally just in from the game and I have not seen the incident for a second time.
But it looked like a penalty to me from my vantage point and I fully expected it to be given.
That not even the VAR officials asked the ref to look again, when I’m certain they’d have liked nothing more, has me half convinced that it’s not. I’ll have to watch it properly to be sure.
But sooner or later there was always going to be a call that went in our favour, erroneously or otherwise, and you wait and see … the same people who were telling us to sit down and shut up will raise 99 kinds of hell.
So this is the week they’ve waited for, the one where they tell us that it was all a conspiracy theory after all.
How many of them, though, will darkly hint that these are the decisions “the big clubs get” in these matches?
What is that if not a conspiracy theory of another sort?
What is it but an entreaty to the SFA to up its game and start considering reform?
Hey, if McInnes thinks they were denied a penalty and VAR isn’t doing its job, or the refs aren’t, and Robbie Neilson is bitching and moaning about last night’s decision then we welcome them to the reform movement and we look forward to their support.
If we’re going to have discussions about this stuff then let’s accept the first premise, that SFA run refereeing is a system that is utterly broken and unfixable.
But I guarantee you there will be no talk about that at all, instead this will be weaponised against us.
For all that, we had one foot in the final and even if they’d gotten their call I don’t believe Kilmarnock were going to get a result. The second goal for us was coming, it was a matter of time, and people can live in denial at that as much as they like.
Their keeper made some good saves.
Our boys had the ball in the net four times.
To try and shift the whole debate to one over that decision denies us the credit we deserve.
This is a football winning machine. It is utterly relentless. Utterly ruthless.
And we’re in the final, job done, and onto the next challenge.
That one was in the category of “Seen them given, seen them not given”. This one wasn’t, deal with it!
Well done Celtic and the coaching team horrible night and that pitch for a national stadium is a disgrace. The pundits and the media not happy no penalty for Killie what a shame we just won’t stop well done Celtic.
I would have been going nuts if it wasn’t gave to us but we were never losing that game.
I disagree. The Kellie player went down easily.
For me it was a definite penalty. What the hell is going on with these officials. We’ve been unlucky with var and had some bad ones but tonight we got lucky. It’s not luck actually it is incompetence. For Ranger to have zero penalties in like 30 or 40’games twice in last three seasons is staggering. It’s spoiling the game. We deserved to win tonight but that was a stone Waller if it had happened to us we’d be screaming conspiracy… yes it was tha
Willie had a good game. Giako was gifted a gimme and he took his shirt off for the second time.
Willie told him something. Down South you can cop a fine for being a mug lair. They even fined Sam Kerr. Kilmarnook took their best game to Glasgow.
Lol take trip on FF tonight read the posts on the refs getting pressure put on them from our club,you could not make it up.
Apparently is a conspiracy with our fans our club and the refs and the SFA.
Of all the clubs fans to call this out these bammy bastards are doing it,they now want their own klub to challenge those decisions from tonight.
Oh and another thing Aberdeen have advantage so say their fans for tomorrow because the pitch will look like a bog and sevco won’t be able play their football on it, so Aberdeen have the advantage.
Lol both teams are playing on the same surface just how DAFT are these people.
To me that was a pen(but ifab rules state) :-)))))))
Hi James, I don’t always agree with you, but you speak with your heart – something I admire – thought you would like to read this – https://www.theguardian.com/football/2023/jan/14/celtic-kilmarnock-scottish-league-cup-semi-final-match-report – yep Ewan Murray – good grief!!!
wtf is GG thinking about..!!! was a penalty all day long….you really should have taken a 2nd OBJECTIVE look at the incident james before you went to print……
killie played well…took the game to us…fair play !….but of course what else are they to do in a knock-out game….?
just goes to show the total incompetence of the match officials when they didn’t even call ref to screen….
of course we deserved the win….but it wasn’t v pretty…..
and of course starfelt had his usual shocking contributions….followed closely by bernebei…please get fit soon greg taylor….
Have to agree with most of the comments about it being cert penalty but had they scored it there would have been no difference to the outcome.In extra time we would have coasted it with at least another couple of goals.
Off topic I thought Bernabei and Starfelt were woeful tonight and on another day could have cost us big time. for me, not good enough if Ange is hoping tp progress this team.
Tbh no so sure about that. Most of our better players had been subbed by that time.
As regards the penalty ‘non-decision’ – it was a penalty – definitely – if WE hadn’t been given it at one down we would be screaming about it – don’t want to be be *cough* ‘paranoid’ – but is this one of those ‘well they got away with that’ – ‘wait till the next one’ that will be given against us – Final, or next theRangers game???
I’ve not seen the incident however I go back to Kent bundling into Abada as he was about to shoot in the 4-0 game.
The media described that as a “coming together”.
I’m not surprised they are now screaming for a penalty as the phrase “Celtic, after six ridiculous calls, finally get one in their favour scandal”.
Once you see how easily the Kellie player went down you will see it was not a penalty.
Kilmarnock have a failed manager, who doesn’t know the rules of the game properly. He didn’t complain when the Celtic attack were continually manhandled in the box, the only difference being they didn’t throw themselves to the ground.
Penalty, mabies, aye, maybies naw, either way it was or it wasn’t. We’ll never know the thinking behind the decision or non decision. All we know is Sevco will be in the final, unless Jonnny Hayes and Liam Scales can conspire to make dons beat Sevco, then let Us win.
Conspiracies? I’ve only just began.
And another Ewan Murray in the Grauniad – before the game https://www.theguardian.com/football/2023/jan/13/celtic-ange-postecoglous-var-complaints-feed-familiar-old-firm-biases?utm_term=63c19142f02fa1e6a62eb008bcbd8817&utm_campaign=TheFiver&utm_source=esp&utm_medium=Email&CMP=fiver_email
If anyone thinks the officials got it wrong (pro or con) then I say ‘Reform’.
We got one today, now pressure on Celtic going into final to be extra super careful in the box, coincidence? Methinks not.
Right at the time ofmost pressure we get a bad call going out way ensuring bad press* no laughing, and ongoing noise all the way to the game.
Var was not called into action? Yet it could not come in quick enough to check our goals .
It’s pressure pressure pressure.
All hope that Aberdeen can give var a run for its money.
Never mind the non penalty incident (it just wasn’t if you look at the mechanics of the Killie player going down) and Starfelts performance tonight. The most woeful thing tonight was the state of our national stadium’s surface. It is clear this hadn’t been trimmed in week’s! It is clear that we were never going to be allowed to play our flowing passing game on the deck.
My next point is bring Jenz back asap. For months I have watched numerous posts from you James and other contributors go up on this forum singing the praises of big Starfelt and I have kept my council and quietly studied his performances. If we had been up against any better quality this afternoon we’d have been out. The man has one leg. Cannot use both feet. Turns like an arctic lorry and shirks from headers when being put under pressure.
He was bailed out a few times tonight by young Bernbei who I thought put in a sure and solid performance again (sorry to disagree with you John above but you are wrong). Big Jenz is first and foremost a defender. A big raw uncompromising unit but does his job with no frills. Starfelt last week against the zombies and again today showed all of his frailties.
As for the pen the player was looking for it went down and because GG was leaning on him went with him. Momentum took them down nothing else. End of. See you all at the final. Hail! Hail!
What council did you keep? South Lanarkshire? Glasgow City?
Lolz
The Spelling Polis
Not only that but artic is short for Articulated not the North Pole 🙂
….oh and Bernabei was poor, not good enough.
Think it was a penalty myself, tho this one decision will be held up against us tae ‘prove’ there’s nae bent biased officials after all. Can put yer hoose on it. Was a bit of a toil at times, but we got there. HH.
Yeah, definitely a penalty from a stupid and clumsy challenge.
We need to get big mercedes on our books full time ,I don’t know about Starfelt but he doesn’t fill me with confidence for a central defender. ,get mercedes signed up
Starfelt!
Jist naw!