Last night someone sent me a brief recording of Andy Halliday talking about Dermot Gallagher on Sky, giving his view on the incidents from over the weekend.
Gallagher often takes the side of officials even when they get things wrong – knowing as he does what it’s like to have to make that decision in a split second. So when he offers withering criticism of both referees and those behind the VAR monitors people down south take that seriously.
Not Andy Halliday. “Who cares what Dermot Gallagher thinks?” was his line.
Which shows what a prize idiot we’re dealing with here.
It was Halliday who himself who sounded moronic as he tried to defend a decision which Gallagher has examined from every angle, as a former official who worked at the top of the business, a man who with the massive platform of Sky to speak from and who branded our weekend’s decisions “farcical.”
Halliday doesn’t care because Halliday is a biased ex-Ibrox player who simply doesn’t want to offer the least criticism of a decision that went their way no matter how preposterous it was, and as decisions go their penalty, when you watch it properly, is a disgrace.
As is the one they didn’t get.
Halliday doesn’t even offer a concrete reason why we shouldn’t listen to the former ref; his comments are those of a Trumper or Flat Earth nutjob hand waiving away reality.
Gallagher, in speaking to that vast audience and calling our standard of refereeing “farcical”, is dragging the reputation of Scottish football along the basement floor, and deservedly so because it’s become precisely the scandal Celtic warned it would.
Halliday doesn’t care. He should though, and we all should, because as I said yesterday it has become a running joke on Sky now.
They only do Ref Watch up here so that they can laugh at the diabolical standard of our officials, and that makes the whole game up here look ridiculous.
It’s just another way the English based media has of viewing our league as a banana republic and backwater.
They only have to look at our media and the Village Idiot School rejects who fill up our phone in shows and broadcast studios and fill up the ranks at BBC Sports Scotland to see further evidence of that. Andy Halliday should be nowhere a microphone, but there he is, putting his bias and ignorance in front of an audience.
It reminds me, again, that one of the reasons standards don’t improve here is that we have a press corps who would rather the game rot from the inside than deal with that fact.
They would happily live in shit if it meant not having to work a shovel.
Lol and people are screaming for loads and loads and loads of extra BIG MONEY for our game up here while the English watch these farcical refs decisions.
Aye let’s pump all that extra money into Scottish football for the nickel&dine refs to make a joke of it,or better still to favour just one klub.
Aye and his teams ‘professionalism’ shows when they play the ibrox club, especially recently. Of course their next 2 games’ll be a different matter altogether. Nae half interested approach this time, or messin wi the team by their manager, ye can bet yer arse on it.
As James has said why is this guy allowed on this programme.?
He is biased,and Neilson well let’s not go there with that clown.
Let’s see how many times hibs get cheated on Wednesday also against dirty fearts how many Dodgy decisions go against us
Who cares what Halliday thinks!!
It’s almost like a secret society attitude ! Do not upset the establishment applecart as it is far too lucrative ! Don’t question the establishment team decisions as that will only cause disharmony ! It’s almost as if certain individuals in this country regard Scottish football as one clumpany only ! But hey ,keep giving us your money as there is a tacit set of rules to maintain at all costs …. Rigidly and permanently !
It’s one thing being a Rangers cheerleader in the media
But when you’re playing for another club in the same league as the team that you’re blatantly cheerleading
That’s mind boggling how he’s getting with that man
Both klubs fans and players are as DENSE as each other.
It’s a not so secret society, I know you were being sarcastic John. Halliday decided to defend the corrupt orange order status quo that runs this country and of course football. It was a clear rebuttal of an experienced career long, honest and renowned individual and his collegues at sky.
Halliday’s don’t tell ‘the people’ what to do or how to run things up here exposes his arrogant orange attitude and he’s not about trying to hide it. It’s a strong rebuttal and reminder to anybody wishing to take an intrusive look at how our game is corruptly run to turn away. It’s not welcome by the lodge and will be met with this show of defiance and a feck off sandwich everytime. It takes a strong non partisan government to unwrap and defeat corrupt institutions and that’s exactly what we don’t have.
Touché.
I recently wrote to Humza Yousaf MSP regarding the Westminster proposal
to create a Regulating Body to oversee the English game. As Sport is a devolved competency, it is within the Scottish Government’s remit to do so and asked him if the SNP Government was going to legislate in a like manner.
No reply, Zilch, Nada, not even a courtesy response.
Says it all.
CORRUPTION is at the heart of this government don’t expect them to do anything about.
‘Ref Watch’ is being moved from Sports to Comedy. SFA Ref corruption needs to be cleared out.
Fanny Holiday what an absolute roaster between him and the other BIGOTS that played out if ibrox you couldn’t put a fag paper between them all when it comes to being TOTALLY DENSE.
Good effort fella, it’s that football angle that the SNP avoid getting involved in. After all she needs/needed their votes too for independence to ever happen. That’s pretty much the sort of attitude that’s been Nicola’s stated stance over the years. ‘I’m not taking sides in the foul mouthed rivalry between Celtic and the rankers and the bile that comes from the stands of both sets of supporters’. I do get that. Why should she/they.
Sure we want fairness and decency in football but what I really want the government to do is address the wider societal issues of oppressive and institutional bigotry that prevents the forming of the decent society Scotland should be; the consequence being that it should eventually make the football arenas cleaner too. Too idealistic? Mibbies. HH