It was a matter of time, I guess, before ex-refs had their own podcast. Everyone else is doing it so why not these guys? Des Roache and Steve Conroy have been doing so for a while and making headlines, and whilst I think they have talked a ridiculous amount of nonsense at times they aren’t always wrong and today they were absolutely spot on.
They are both stunned by the leniency of the SFA sanction against the Ibrox women’s assistant coach who attacked Fran Alonso completely unprovoked at the end of the recent game where we scored a late equaliser. Both have cited cases where the charge was far less extreme and the punishment meted out was far harsher.
I could not have agreed more. I thought it was an appallingly lax sentence, a six match ban for something that could easily have seen him sitting in the stand for games well into double figures.
I’ll tell you what else they had right; Ibrox’ reaction.
“(They) should have dismissed him,” Conroy said, echoing what many of us said at the time. “That’s gross misconduct. You can’t have that from a senior part of the organisation. If I was running an organisation, I would have sacked him.”
He then focussed on the SFA’s failure. “Without a shadow of a doubt, the ban is too lenient. You can’t say it was a rush of blood or adrenalin. He deliberately and with fore-thought sought the guy out and deliberately stuck the head on him. It’s criminal.”
Roache accused the SFA of “playing hide and seek.” That’s another on the nose assessment. To me that’s all the SFA is ever doing these days, and they certainly did it here. I thought it odd that McPherson was only being charged under one SFA code of conduct when that charge is usually only used in conjunction with others; in effect, he was charged with conduct which brings the game into disrepute instead of something relating to violent conduct.
Quite who made that decision, and why, is only one of the questions the governing bodies should be forced to answer. It was clear-cut violent conduct, so why wasn’t that listed as the main charge? Because he was sorry? Because he apologised?
Big deal. So what? As I said at the time, people do that in courtrooms every single day … which is where this piece of thuggery might well end up.
An apology isn’t good enough. Even if you think in the old code that “justice should be tempered with mercy” and agree he’s a victim too – a preposterous notion in this case – disciplinary proceedings aren’t just about meting out punishment but about providing an effective deterrent and in this the SFA has shockingly, lamentably failed.
The standard, and the precedent, has been set. That’s the thing now. The next person to do this can point to the six match ban and expect that to be as far as it goes. The SFA never thinks further than not wanting to upset Ibrox … and the club itself hasn’t subjected him to any kind of public disciplining for the action either, so we know where they stand.
But the governing body has a responsibility to more than one club and they blew it here big time. The sentence is a joke. Ibrox’s silence on it and failure to impose their own punishment – a public sacking would have sent a very clear message indeed – is a flat-out disgrace that keeps the temperature dangerously high ahead of Hampden.
It should not have taken two former officials with a podcast and a handful of bloggers to point this out. The mainstream media, too, has a far more forgiving attitude to this than they would have if this was a fan sticking the nut on somebody.
Their hypocrisy and cowardice continues to appal me.
After the treatment of Clancy after last week’s game I can see ex referees, and the present ones, rethinking their bluenose alliances and giving them less favours on a regular basis.
Of course both referees here are absolutely correct, a slap on the wrist did not address the seriousness of the crime, and the SFA should be ashamed of their moderate response. Of course though, they won’t be, they don’t do shame, and as usual they have made a rod for their own backs as the scum will in the long run take advantage of their leniency.
His funny handshake mates clearly looking out for him
There must some serious brown stuff coming down the pipe in the coming days and weeks.
Duggie 5 chins Joe The Toff,Jockey Wison done a bolt to Nottingham.
Big BEEFY BENNETT and some other FUD shovelling more money into that cesspit of a klub for the second month running to pay wages.
That klub are in some serious shit and its only going to get worse,the bank of Bennett and Taylor and whoever is throwing money in there can only last for so long before a BREAKING POINT.
Jim Goodwin accused Ryan Porteous of cheating for which he was given an 8 game ban. Compare and contrast with the more lenient sentence given for an unprovoked physical attack. And they wonder why we are “paranoid.”
SFA, police, judiciary, there is no avenue untainted by sectarianism and racism in Scotland.
Head butting, bottle throwing in goal mouths, missiles at medical staff , fans head’s split at ibrox, union bears trying to sneak bat’s into a football match , ect ect. You could not embarrasse this bitter institute with a blow torch and our bitter press continues to stick its head in the sand. Ibrox seems have a hand up everyone of these muppets arse,s as they will never speak out against the . SHAMEFUL
Any other place of employment the result would have been dismissal rightly so ,and possible criminal charges . Dismissed at very least ,but mason,s look after their own
Its scum helping scum,police Scotland should do something about HIM,IT WAS AN ASSAULT ON A MEMBER OF THE PUBLIC,SENTENCED ACCORDINGLY,IF THEY DONT IT PROVES SOMETHING THAT ALL HOOPS FANS ALREADY KNOW,ABOUT THEM,DONT HAVE TO BE A ROCKET SCIENTIST TO WORK IT OUT.