Andy Walker and Sky have issued an apology to the SFA over the comments about referees which dominated yesterday’s news. The governing body has succeeded in browbeating a broadcast journalist and his employer because he presented crucial information which illuminated a major debate which the clubs are having over VAR.
As far as I’m concerned that’s the worst possible outcome to this.
The SFA hierarchy and our over-protected and thoroughly coddled referees continue to intimidate any organisation or individual who dares to question the way things work here.
The SFA doubtless believe that this is a victory.
But the game has been damaged by it and the governing body itself has been damaged by it.
Their scandalous response to this, and their closing of ranks, without presenting any context or giving the smallest bit of information to others who might have concerns shows them up in the worst possible light.
And clubs will remember that when the decisions as to whether to continue funding VAR are being made. All the SFA has accomplished here is make it more likely that some of the clubs will think this is no longer something they want to fund from their own pockets, and once the first domino falls all of them are going to go one after the other.
They have forced a grovelling apology from Walker, but that will not stop questions being asked. His comments cannot be airbrushed out of the narrative, they are there now and they are part of the record and the SFA isn’t even denying that they were said but shrieking that Walker himself had no right to disclose them. He had every right and he should have gone further.
In making him apologise they evidently think they can make this go away. But they can’t.
There is no putting this to bed now, especially as those comments look certain to go unexplained. Conspiracy theories will thrive. Distrust will only grow.
The SFA has done itself no favours here at all, they’ve made matters worse by their demand for secrecy.
How can an organisation run by people this stupid, this arrogant, continue to exert influence over the game here? Their handling of this treats the broadcaster, the journalist, the clubs and the fans like fools.
Their response suggests that the only people in the game who do have rights are the officials. But we’re only in this mess because they are hopeless, weak or corrupt in the first place.
It is not in our interests to carry on as normal.
If clubs vote to get rid of VAR we will look like a hopeless, hapless banana republic and that outcome has been made more, not less, likely by their handling of this affair.
Clubs who share Walker’s concerns are being fobbed off. Fans aren’t even considered worthy of explanations or even basic respect and thus the conditions for the next crisis are already in place.
We have officials who believe that they, and they alone, should not have to explain themselves to anyone. They are the only people in the whole game whose performances cannot be critiqued by clubs or managers. And yet they’re why we’re in the midst of a crisis in our game. This really cannot go on like this. Eventually this is going to come to a head.
And the SFA appears almost keen on it. So be it.
Pointless continuously having this discussion, its obvious why refs don’t want to be scrutinised or explain their decisions, it has been thus for many decades, and it will take a nuclear explosion in the sfa to change anything.
So that’s Maxwell’s smart solution to deal with “VAR teething problems” ;
shut down criticism, and ensure that VAR continues to operate behind a curtain!
Why should the SFA let the paying customers know what the hell is happening on the pitch?
Just because rugby has an enlightened, open approach to sharing match officials’ decision making in real time,
doesn’t mean that football supporters should be afforded the same service or respect.
The SFA reacting in typical defensive, archaic, arrogant fashion. 🙁
What a wimp Andy wanker is.
Stand your ground for the sake of Scottish football.
Now we will have to listen to this gobshite brown nosing his way towards the scum just to keep the Hun mentality within the SFA and sky happy.
A total gutless fuck and deserves no place within Celtic Park and should never be allowed as the face of Celtic within sky either as a total embarrassment of a so called man.
Get him to Fuck away from celtic.
As Malky Mackay said last week, the clubs pay for var, Celtic should stop paying, and see what they think they can do.
This will ONLY continue IF Celtic speak up, it’s already yesterday’s news.
The sfa secretly want the clubs to abandon VAR, that’s always been their goal, make life so bad with VAR that they’ll be clamouring to scrap it and return to the bad ole daze of masonic oversight.
FUQN same ole shit, another wave of optimism shot tae feq.
Another ‘New Dawn Fades’
Joy Division
Walker was always going to bottle it to keep the gravy train going, he has no backbone.
Whilst I agree with you regarding VAR and it’s totally inept and potentially corrupt use by the SFA, I do wonder as to the relevance of Andy Walker.
He and his puppet masters at SkySports are not the ideal victim, rather a big part of the problem.
Whilst not being bigots per se, their unwavering support of the “Establishment” and it’s flag of conquest does give reason to question their motives, does it not.
Walker is one man up against an establishment. If Sky refused to support him, his erse was oot the windae.
Sky will bide its time and hit back at negotiation time.
Only way to sort if for celtic to pull the plug on var or fans boycott away games.
The stench of corruption in Scottish officiating can be smelt out here in Australia
Once again
Andy Walker only wants Andy Walker to be the story.
He comes out with the big story then apologises days later??
Anything that comes out his mouth should be instantly dismissed.
He is the most discredited and dishonest pundit on skys books and that’s some achievement.
At least Boyd and the rest are totally honest in their hatred of Celtic.
Walker pretends to be a Celt whilst shouting the loudest about the “ridiculous penalty decisions” we get
I think he’s still getting therapy for our penalty at Ross county
The guy is a joke and totally irrelevant.
Do not listen him.
Rant over
Andy Walker only wants Andy Walker to be the story.
He comes out with the big story then apologises days later??
Anything that comes out his mouth should be instantly dismissed.
He is the most discredited and dishonest pundit on skys books and that’s some achievement.
At least Boyd and the rest are totally honest in their hatred of Celtic.
Walker pretends to be a Celt whilst shouting the loudest about the “ridiculous penalty decisions” we get
I think he’s still getting therapy for our penalty at Ross county
The guy is a joke and totally irrelevant.
Do not listen him.
Rant over
Agree that this probably is the worst possible outcome for what you hoped would go onto present as clear evidence of a specific intention by match officials. What Walker said was as unspecific as it could be and alluded only to some easily defended intention of words. I can’t agree with the body of this article at all.
Walker has not clarified or made clear anything or the intention of anything said by the refereeing and Var officials from their words made in his remarks. It quite frankly was so vague that it could never stand up on its own and allowed the SFA the space to reply about misrepresentation and misinterpretation by Walker. With absolute ease.
Equally it allowed you, James, the space to interpret it in the way that you wanted to as some kind of statement that it would go onto prove there was some kind of intention of corruption in those words. All it shows is that you get carried away too easily by innuendo from Walker, Walker of all people ffs, and that it was an allusion of something it would not ever be.
Walker quite frankly has made a complete arse of himself and anybody thinking this was some kind of ‘Eureka moment’ that had unearthed evidence or proof of something. It unearthed and discovered nothing, sweet Fanny Adams other than he’s a twat.
Sky could not possibly back Walker on something so flimsy as this utter unsubstantiated garbage from Walker. What is clear is that both you and Walker would be terrible lawyers if you thought that was or was going to be clear and unambiguous evidence of anything and quite frankly there no reasoning I can see as to why this nonsense warrants anything going forward other than the bin. If Sky have any sense they will probably end any contract they have with him for potentially jeopardising their contract in Scotland.
stop sky sports till they ask about it
Everyone Knows That The SFA Are Full Of Corrupt Bigoted People And There Official’s And VAR Who They Control,That Is Why Scottish Football All Around The World They Are The Laughing Stock Of Football And Always Will Be Until We Get These Overpaid Self Important Who Are A Disgrace To The Great People Of Scotland And Most Of All Scottish Football Fans ,We Know They Bend Over Backwards To Help There Team They Are An Embarrassment
Walker’s comments can be interpreted in several ways. That does not change the fact that the continued secrecy around how VAR decisions are made, is a recipe for paranoia. Why are refs allowed to be so secretive?
Why does the SFA sanction this secrecy?
What are they scared of?
Only when the process becomes transparent and verifiable will the worst excesses of the paranoid be curbed. While the secrecy prevails, so does the paranoia.
Agree with your comments, but not just SFA.
They are not transparent anywhere in Football.
FIFA/UEFA need to change tge rules.
In the AFL in Australia, there are three central umpires who rule the games in total impartiality.
For example, one ex-player became umpire and was totally impartial even when he umpired a game involving his former team.
It was my team that he umpired one game. He was excellent . No favour given.
What is wrong with the Scottish referees is, to me, it seems that some referees have ties to Rangers.Even have season tickets and cohort with Ranger’s supporters in pubs.
That floored me. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.
In no way that would happen in the AFL. The Australian Football League.
What did Any Walker apologise FOR ?
If our gutless board had any balls maxwell will go the same way as that cheat farry