Some in the media did a fine job trying to spin the manager’s comments about VAR. Keith Jackson, as I wrote yesterday, tried to interpret them as about the importance of the decisions as opposed to them being plain wrong.
But Ange went out of his way to make it clear that he was talking about the rash of decisions and he used a very unsubtle term; “this will not even itself out.”
Yesterday, Callum McGregor said something very similar when sitting in front of the media.
“You have to, at all costs, keep your hands by your side when sometimes even that’s not enough. It’s difficult for the players, but it’s tough for the officials as well. The quicker we can get clarity on it and resolve the issue, hopefully you will start to see some consistency in the decisions. Then, over time, it will level itself out. We probably need a couple of good ones to go for us for that to happen. The law of averages would suggest that, over a season, it will. But we need to get some good ones between now and the end of the season.”
He didn’t quite what some of the headlines screamed – that it won’t even itself out at all – but he came damned close to it and in accentuating that point he’s repeating Celtic’s official position on this, and make no mistake, that’s what this is.
Celtic’s official position is that VAR has negatively impacted us because of the way decisions are being “interpreted.”
As I’ll point out in more detail later, the club has a much clearer understanding of what the media is up to here, and what the SFA’s line of defence will be, than some people seem to think.
In the meantime, we want the message to be clear; this stuff has gone too far already and we are now watching every decision that falls against us and every one that falls for other clubs.
To all at Celtic Park there is an obvious pattern here and we are making sure that they know we see it.
Ange has said it. Callum has said.
And in private, you better believe that others at Celtic are going to be getting the message across just as clearly.
I said on Facebook before we had it here that we would suffer and that they would use var as an extra stick to beat us with and they have lived up to expectations but we will take them on and be champions once again
The huns get more penalty decisions for and fewer against than any other team in the league. This happens year upon year stretching back into the mists of time.
They also have fewer players ordered off and more ordered off against them year upon year stretching back into the mists of time.
VAR has only ratified the foregoing.
Coincidence?
You would have to be a complete imbecile to believe so, such as Lord Hee Haw Cowan, Fat Sally, Bydie English et al.
Scottish football has been corrupted for the benefit of one club.
Its very obvious VAR is being used to disadvantage Celtic and benefit sevco. This is corruption plain and simple.
I disagree with Callum, we don’t need (or want) ‘some good ones’ to go for us. What we want is correct decisions to be made by the people handsomely paid to make those decisions. We don’t want to be thrown a bone now and then, more likely when we have a match buttoned up by us, just to even things up or balance things out. that’s just more corruption.
I want correct decisions in all Celtics games and more importantly correct decisions in all of sevco games. When this happens when we can say we have moved from corruption to honesty.
I’d go step further in fact Rob – I just want correct decisions in ALL games and as a result the teams who deserve to win on any given day will win and on occasions that will be our opponents which I can accept – we don’t have a divine right to win every match (nobody does) but we do have a right to expect the officials to give the same decisions for the same incidences on every occasion no matter whose playing which clearly has not been the case recently.
Well said.
I’ve often stated, I don’t mind getting beat, I can accept that, but I hate being cheated.
The phrase ‘Decisions evening themselves out’ should no longer be getting used in the football vocabulary. VAR was supposed to remove the occurrence of wrong decisions caused by human error. What it cannot remove completely is deliberate human error caused by a long held bias against our club by the individuals involved. The corrupt cnts just can’t help themselves and need to be replaced with neutral adjudicators from elsewhere. Until that happens we will always be at their mercy, They may reduce their obvious errors because they are under the spotlight, but they will always revert back to normal when it is a decision that really counts. Get them all to fk!
The decisions going against us will not cease until it is mathematically impossible for that lot to catch us. When that scenario is upon us, we will then start to get them in our favour; until then expect more of the same ad nauseam…
HH
The current and historical refereeing body needs to be stood down. A new professional refereeing body is required. Employing qualified international refs from around the world should be more independent and with me, welcome. Proviso being oversight of their interaction with the SFA to supervise and ensure their independence.
We can bang on about the scandalous decisions against us so far with VAR, and I include people in powe at Celtic. But how to you actually ensure that fairness will be delivered if those at Hampden aint listening or thing as evidences so far suggested that they feel bomb proof