I really do not understand what the fuss is about over Bobby Madden’s interview on the BBC.
Not the fuss the media made of it, nor the fuss some Celtic fans have made of it, but the fuss Madden himself made of it, in his hilariously bad answer to a straightforward and simple question.
The question he was asked – about whether or not he was a “Rangers fans” – was not ambiguous, so quite why he chose to answer it with a lot of fluff and fiddle-dee-dee and obfuscation, raising straw men just to bat them down I don’t know.
The answer was bollocks because most Celtic fans have never alleged that Madden had a season ticket for Ibrox and I have never heard the allegation that he was a share-holder there, both of which he raised to dismiss them.
Stripped right down to the basics, these were never serious propositions because it would have been the height of insanity for someone climbing the SFA refereeing ladder to appear at Ibrox every week that he wasn’t on the pitch doing games, and even more ridiculous to have been on what would have been easily obtainable share-holder lists at the club.
We have accused people in the refereeing fraternity of many things on this site, including suspicions of outright corruption. But we’ve never said these people were stupid.
The issue, as it’s always been, is where his allegiances lie.
Madden grew up supporting Rangers. He freely admitted that.
His pitiful “and then I started following St Mirren” spiel is not even thinly disguised. It’s a classic nod and wink to the wise, an excuse which has been heard in Scottish refereeing circles for years.
“My Glasgow team? Well technically, they play in Paisley.”
It’s like a bad end of pier joke long past its use by date.
He grew up following Rangers.
It doesn’t matter whether he’s paid money to attend a Sevco match at home or abroad.
We know what Madden is.
We know where his allegiances lie, and they do not lie at The SMiSA Stadium.
He sounded ridiculous pushing that line, a line which everybody is well aware is utterly bogus.
Even his questioners must have been sniggering over it, but all he’s done is draw attention, once again, to the issue we keep on talking about … officials should be made to declare their allegiances the way they do in England and elsewhere.
And yeah, some of them will try this pitiful line … but they do so at their own risk, on pain of termination should the truth ever out and this is a small country and it nearly always does.
Growing up in a staunch pro-Ibrox household and being taken there regularly growing up should be an automatic disqualifier from ever officiating one of their games … it’s not harsh, it’s a common sense measure which is considered routine everywhere but here.
Frankly, I’d have more respect for these people if they simply admitted what we already know.
There are officials in this country who shouldn’t be near, or should have never have been near, games involving our club, and I know of at least two retired officials who are Celtic fans and I’d include them in that number, especially as one of them freely admits to having been harder on us than other clubs … in the service of appearing “balanced.”
A bit like Andy Walker and Mark Wilson try to be.
With “friends” like these, who needs corrupt geezers leaning the other way?
The start of his post ref media career in Scotland
This hun c*nt will be everywhere soon
I don’t really care what team he supports or what team anybody supports as long as they are fair and do their job to a high standard. I wouldn’t say to someone you can’t be a referee if you support Celtic or Rangers that’s just ridiculous. The problem in Scotland is the referees are garbage.. they really are average at best. There should be a system in place.. for example UEFA, were you can’t be a referee unless you meet a required standard, and if the standards are not enforced met on a weekly basis you get demoted. I think if something like that was put in place.. then the standard of referring would improve as they would be losing dough.
If this goes anywhere to bringing down the barriers of the corruption that has existed within the SFA for way to long, then I will applaud it.
Yet remain very skeptical in doing so.
I believe this interview is only designed in making the path a bit clearer for getting a job within Sky to explain some of the ridiculous decision making within the game, and continues to put such a stain upon it still.
Would he be an acceptable face in doing so, like a Gallagher and Walton do for sky and BT sport remains to be seen, even if it’s even in the offering.
Maybe a watchful eye from an ex ref could be the way to go as the pundits are still far to full of bias still, especially with a fat useless monster munch fuck being given way to much airtime to spout his shite constantly.
Was never a fan of madden as just another in a long line of been able to do the job properly, yet remain unsure if he could actually remain a voice that could actually improve standards for the future as something needs to be done still
Why does no hack ask him why he headed down south?????
If they did and he told the truth you would get the mark of the man.
Mr. Madden just can’t tell the truth at the end of the day.
If he ever went into politics he’d rise through the ranks right to the top because they’re all lying b’stards as well.
My son worked with him in Morrisons in Bellshill and he most certainly was an Ibrox season ticket holder at that time. So, he’s a total liar.
People should be judged on their actions and Madden has proved time and again his pro Ibrox and anti Celtic bias.
One of the worst examples was his failure to award a penalty when Leigh Griffith was taken out by a chest high tackle from a sevco player whose leg was literally wrapped arond the wee man. Madden later said the hun got the ball but if he did he went through the Celtic player to do so.
Everyone knows Madden is a hun and that he let his bias show through in games involving them and Celtic either together or on their own.
You would have to be a gullible eejit to believe otherwise.
The perception of bias is what is important particularly if it is accompanied by baffling decisions.
Celtic has been easily the most successful club in Scotland this century, yet year on year there are fewer penalties awarded for and more awarded against than sevco.
This has been happening for decades and is statistically significant.
Why do the huns have these baffling penalty statistics that are clearly not coincidental?
There must be a reason for it, and no amount of I knew so and so and he was OK can account for this.
Something untoward is clearly going on and the common factor appears to be Scottish referees, particularly those from Lanarkshire, whose influence is disproportionately out of kilter with their numbers.
Solution? Get in professional refs from anywhere but Scotland to remove the perception and incidence of bias in Scottish football.
Nothing misleadiing either wilful or otherwise about the fact that the huns penalty statistics are year on year always in their favour.
No pens awarded against them at Ibrox in over a year by a Scottish referee yet several in European games by neutral refreees. Clearly something is seriously wrong here.
No one is pretending to be a victim and you do yourself no favours by stating this.
The stats are there for all to see and cry out for an explanation, which your selective facts do not do.
IF you really are a Celtic supporter you need to wise up, and certainly refrain from expressing these views in Tim company.
Still no explanation of the discrepancy between Scottish and non Scottish referees in terms of penalties against the huns during the same time period.
You are in a minority of one I suspect among Tims, if you are one, in believing that there is no hun bias among Scottish referees.
To be quite frank mate you sound like a hun to me.
Sorry mate. In the words of the bard……… Methinks you doth protest too much, and you now appear to be obsessed about this.
BTW. You have produced no evidence to support your claims, e.g. reference to statistics and articles that anyone can access.
I’ll keep looking in to see what you come up with next.
Aye take it easy mate. I hope you find the peace you seek.