How many times now have we covered this bizarre idea that seems to have found a toe-hold in media thinking that every manager in the league is allowed to have his say but that Ange Postecoglou, far and away the most articulate and intelligent of the lot of them, shouldn’t be permitted his, or that he should bite his tongue?
How else to explain the whining over his comment yesterday about how VAR “misses nothing, especially when it’s us”? That was nothing but an accurate summary of what that man, that exceptionally savvy individual sees happening in front of his own eyes.
Marvin Gaye might have once sung that you should believe only half what you see and none of what you hear, but how stupid would you have to be not to notice the pattern that plays out every single time our team takes to the pitch right now?
Ange didn’t have to hear this through the grapevine, he’s on the touchline watching it, and the one thing that he knows for sure is that you can believe the evidence of your own eyes.
But he’s either not supposed to see this … or pretend that he doesn’t?
Or maybe just shut up about it and let this little farce play out. Why should he? That man knows what this is, and he’s making it as clear as he’s able to without getting an SFA ban.
I understand that it’s inconvenient for some people that he’s shining a light down this particular rat-hole, but the man’s job is to represent this club and he’s doing that superbly and this is part of the job description. I only wish other people at Celtic were speaking about it publicly and saying the kind of things that the manager isn’t permitted, or able, to say.
Until then, Ange will continue to do two things brilliantly; win games and fight for us when that’s required. He’s doing his job. My contempt is reserved only for those who are watching the same thing but lamentably failing to do theirs.
Every decision yesterday was spot on …. there was no need for Ange to make that comment today. There have been 3 bad ones
– v Hearts when Smith hand balled and VAR did not even look at it
– v Ross C0 O’Reilly never a pen
– v Dundee United Bernarbei never a pen.
We got one v Livingston when Ambrose hand ball, never a pen.
The REAL issue here is the long term trend.
Never a pen at Ibrox against the home team in two years and no pen at all against them home or away at all this season…and all of 20/21. ASTONISHING. If we look at pens given v pens conceded. The numbers are statistically significant….mathematically this means there is a bias. THAT is where Celtic need to push…yes ask about individual decisions but also push the overall trend, it is unbelievable……James you should publish the pens for and against totals each week for all SPFL teams it is truly mind blowing.
Disagree the ref had clear vision of the St Mirren pen and clearly judged it to be handball but nothing the player could do to move out the way. That is NOT a penalty, like some of the others you rightly call out.
Kyogo’s foul was still in play in the St Mirren box as part of the overall foul and therefore should have been a pen as the commentator suggested it’s where the pen ends not starts.
Ange’s reactions to both incidents shows you what he thought of the decisions.
I do agree the trend sets a potential longer term issue here if not addressed. Even Walker suggested that, albeit smug bhoyd was just playing his usual character.
Games of football should not be won on how many times an attacking player can hit the ball off a defender’s arm in the box.
Even Walker called it out for what it was yesterday. Why are people not complaining about these stupid decisions.
The ref had clear site of the St Mirren pen and only a few yard away and plays it on. VAR is supposed to help ref’s when they do not have clear site otherwise the ref is actually the var guy watching the game on camera.
Kyogo’s was also a pen, explained clearly by the commentator, it’s not where the foul starts it’s where it ends and the CB’s hand was still on Kyogo in the box, that was clear even on the replays.
However, We Never stop.!
For those who haven’t seen my clarification elsewhere. The Kyogo one was not a penalty.
The foul DOES NOT continue into the box. The fact one of Kyogo’s feet enters the box doesn’t matter because the foul is at his shoulder and that’s outside the box. People are either going on rumour or deliberately misreading law 12 here. The offence stops outside the box, you cannot give a penalty for a holding offence when the holding never enters the box (unless you’re giving it to Ibrox against Partick Thistle, obviously).
Completely agree. The frame by frame review they provided after the game clearly shows that his hand comes off Kyogo’s shoulder before the line, so not a penalty.
I thought Ange was right to comment in the way he did and left his comment open enough not to be interpreted in one specific way. That’s where his intelligence shone through and why it allows me to agree with him but not necessarily about any decision we didn’t get yesterday.
I’ve slowed it right down several times, the hand came off Kyogo’s shoulder just outside the box so no penalty. It doesn’t matter that he continued his fall into the box, the foul was outside and the foul did not continue into the box, that’s the rule. Taylor’s was an outstretched handball so a penalty. So Ange called it right they, VAR officials, don’t miss the ones in relation to us though I do think our 2nd goal could have been chopped off and still don’t understand why Dallas chose not to jump at the chance to chop it off.
What I think he was being cute about in relation to this weekend’s games, with his comment, was that the hun’s penalty should not have been given as a penalty but was given, (it either hit the player’s chest or the upper arm or both – it’s simply too fast and blurred to determine exactly even when slowed down) but a penalty was still was given for the rankers. The Killie shout for a penalty against the rankers was a clear foul by the rankers goalie and wasn’t given for Killie thus favoured the rankers.
I agree. I think all calls, with exception of possibly our 2nd, were in the end correct. The calls in Ibrox Killie though…a very similar incident to the McGregor penalty one is literally on the UEFA perception for Perfection training package for VAR and the correct result is penalty no card. Really how that was missed is beyond me.
The main issue surrounding VAR still remains interpretation of the rules of the game, and will also admit to thinking that the SFA/SPFL couldn’t or wouldn’t allow the Scottish game to become as farcical as it currently is.
How wrong was I?
Interpretation within Scottish football is nothing more than favouritism towards hun scum.
Now I haven’t any issues with the decisions made yesterday, even if I was amazed to see our 2nd goal awarded, but the real issue still remains as to weather the same outcome of the decisions would have been made if the scum were involved?
We already know the answer to such a question, but the real question still remains unanswered, in the Taylor handball.
If a mibs interpretation is no peno with a clear view of the incident, then why does VAR become involved and even more so a cheating mibs interpretation is suddenly changed?
The real question should be actually who now holds the power of decision making within Scottish football?
And if a cheating mib can’t make simple decision making supported by VAR then are they all fit for purpose?
We all know the answers, yet can’t and won’t understand the level of corruption and shite the Scottish game wants to keep itself in still?
Who holds the power? They all do. It’s a collective effort to improve the hun’s standing. I’m not sure if it’s as weighty with ref’s decisions for Hearts (not so many Heart’s fan refs around) but that’s irrelevant as any decisions for them are just as useful to the huns as they’re points taken away from us. It’s manipulated to whatever situation fits them, eg Smith’s handball away to Hearts v Taylor’s handball yesterday, not forgetting Goldson’s a few weeks back (not the volleyball protecting my face one).
I don’t care for what Michael Stewart said on the Smith handball, he was representing his own Heart’s supporter bias then, though I know he can appear reasonable on other occasions. Thompson smirked and laughed at Stewart’s irate presentation that night and he should have realised then that in the hierarchy of orangeness, his club always comes below the hun and should know their place. That’s why Heart’s fans, as staunchly orange if not more, should’ve abandoned any thought of wee brotherhood with them a long time ago and stood straight and on their own side instead of folding. Smith’s arm clearly moved out to the ball in that game, it didn’t remain by his side. Taylor’s was similar though his arm was already out, both were penalties. We’re not asking for bias toward us from the refs just objective fairness so that should a ref get it wrong on the field it’s fairly corrected by an independent official (a non Scottish ref for that matter) that can be sacked off when so obviously or biasedly wrong. HH
The SMSM know exactly where Ange is at and they also know he is a very intelligent guy inside and outside of football ! The massive problem is that they are so dumb ,they think that they can compete with him on every level of general sensibilities . Ange had all of their cards marked after 2 days in Scotland
I thought all 3 VAR decisions in our game were correct. For our second goal I thought that we should not have gotten the free kick in the first place. Jota stuck the ball past the defender and then ran straight into him, all the defender did was stand his ground and the free kick shouldn’t have been awarded. Was he supposed to jump out of his path? A wrong decision, but good for us as we scored from it.
Johnny, you’re spot on. We definitely lucked out on the 2nd goal, but that’s not going to be talked about much amongst our support.
But dear me the penalty decisions at Ibrox. Consistent in fairness..
I find it comical that for all their efforts whether it’s ridiculous penalty awards against or penalty awards not given at the other end its made absolutely no difference. What makes it even more comical is that for all the penalties that’s been awarded to that lot, it’s made absolutely no difference. That’s not to mention the amount of times they been up against 10 men. If you look back on all their previous fixtures it’s frightening how many penalties awarded or an opponent set off, or both. They half a full back who’s one of the leading goalscorers in Scotland. The hand ball incident at Ibrox where Connor Goldson handled the ball was clear evidence of what’s going on, there’s absolutely no question had the been Carl Starfelt or Cameron Carter-Vickers at the other end, the ref would have pointed to the spot without VAR in sight