If Willie Collum cheated at the weekend, and Ibrox’s opprobrium isn’t just pouring down on him because they perceive him to be “one of us” – code for Roman Catholic, although what his religion tells them eludes me – then by God, I want to know it.
If there are corrupt officials in Scottish football it is in the best interests of every single person in the game to root them out and show them up. Release the VAR audio, I say. If he’s not playing with a straight bat, he deserves everything he gets. But let me tell you, if he’s found to be up to no good then I don’t want to hear any suggestion that the swinging of the axe should take his head and that the inquest should go no further.
If we’re finally at the moment of reckoning, if we’re finally admitting that all this “West Coast paranoia” might have some substance to it, then we need to get it all out there.
Let’s have officials sign contracts declaring their football allegiances and keeping them away from games which affect their club or their rivals. They do it in England. If that means that on certain weeks, we have to import refs from elsewhere because there’s literally nobody who can do it here then that’s the way it’s going to have to be.
If this game is suddenly faced with the fact – not the allegation, the fact – that our referees are human after all, and subject to the same behavioural norms as the rest of we mere mortals then it cannot end with a single scapegoat, because it should be readily apparent that if there’s one corrupt official there will be others, and we need to get them all.
So the media which has refused to dig up until now, get your shovels out.
Because this is what Celtic fans have been asking for all along. The reek of the hypocrisy which is wafting out of Ibrox and a great many of the newsrooms is staggering. There is no conspiracy unless it’s a conspiracy against them? Really? I’ve never hidden my view that officials in Scotland are biased, it’s obvious that some of them are. And I don’t want biased officials in the game here, and I don’t care how that bias manifests itself. I want them out. I want to know the game is clean, that it’s free of all this, that we’re on a level playing field.
If, as Ibrox appears to be suggesting, Willie Collum favours Celtic in his decisions, that the SFA itself is institutionally corrupt against their club then as barmy as I think that all sounds, I want to know if it’s true, and if it is true then we need to reform it all, don’t we? We need to pull down the whole stinking structure and build something new, and we need to start with refereeing and my preference would be that we get our refs from outside Scotland altogether.
There are Ibrox fan-sites which have spent months now castigating this site and others for advocating SFA reform. Guess what they are advocating today? Their logic is no different from mine; they do not trust the integrity of our officials, and I think they are quite right not to. I think some of our officials are dodgy and that’s putting it mildly.
The difference between them and me is that I’m not howling at the moon just because my team got beat and never have been. Indeed, the last six or seven years, bar one, were the greatest period of domestic success in Scottish football history, and my club was the one winning everything, and I was saying all this stuff the whole time.
I don’t just believe this because the occasional decision goes against Celtic, or because I don’t like the school someone went to or care what their religious persuasion is. I’ve been writing about this stuff for years and I’ve been consistent in my views throughout.
I recognise that this is a tiny country and ours is the biggest club in it and their tribute band version of Rangers is the second biggest and they are both cultural totems to boot, and the idea that our officials are unaffected by the craziness that surrounds all this is manifestly absurd and we shouldn’t believe for a minute that it doesn’t have some impact.
All the while I’ve been singing this song, the media has called me and others nutcases and conspiracy theorists and all manner of other insulting nonsense although what many of us are preaching is just plain old common sense. You don’t even have to read between the lines to see what Ibrox is accusing the SFA of here, and a lot of the media agree with them that this needs to be cleared up.
Many of those singing that song are the ones who don’t think there’s anything suspect in the 70 plus league fixtures Ibrox has gone without conceding a penalty, with a year’s worth of them having happened on VAR’s watch … an astonishing fact they wave their hands at as though it was not something worth looking at properly.
Those same people now have their noses in the air sniffing for God alone knows what. But if they can’t smell themselves, if they can’t smell what charlatans they are for only caring now, for only wondering now, for only suspecting now then I suggest they get some Vicks and clean out their pipes and start inhaling what some of us have been for years.
Because Scottish football stinks of this stuff, like a fish hold left open to the sunlight. And Ibrox’s position on this stinks worst of all.
This is not the first time – far from it – they’ve gone after Willie Collum and I’ve written before about why and I’m happy to write it again; he teaches in a Catholic school and that has set the alarm bells ringing in the heads of some of the assorted trailer trash which calls itself their “official fan media partners” and those people have the ear of the club hierarchy and the club has enough lunatics running the asylum to be tuned in to every word.
Let’s get it straight; they know the right decision has been made here, so what’s this really all about? Even if it was a handball, justifying the penalty, and I am 100% clear that I don’t agree with that at all, it’s offside, we all know it’s offside and thus this whole argument is really over a non-issue. That Ibrox wants to provoke the full-on standoff with the SFA is crazy, but crazy in a way true to the way that club acts most of the time.
And although I’ve seen plenty of this and think they’re as nutty as the proverbial fruitcake, that doesn’t mean that I casually dismiss what it is that they have to say. You see, I have my own doubts about Collum and it might well be that if he is a Celtic fan that some of the dire decisions he has given against us over the years have emerged from a desire to prove himself “neutral” to his fellows Brethren, and so have leaned towards the scandalous.
In October 2010, Collum was the ref who failed to send off the thuggish Lee McCulloch in a derby at Ibrox in which he also gave Rangers a penalty although he was facing away from the incident he awarded it for. Not a single Celtic fan has wanted Collum in charge of our games since, and it has never been an issue for me whether it’s out of bias or an attempt not to seem biased or some form of corruption or if he’s just unacceptably bad … he can’t be trusted.
He’s not the only one either, and Celtic fans would like to see Hampden gutted out, and we’ve been saying this for a very long time. Mostly we’re ignored, but in a very recognisable pattern it only takes a decision or two to fall in our favour for the howling for justice to start. And every time it does we remind people that we want what they claim to want.
Maybe this time we’ll get it … except, no.
Because I don’t believe they do want justice over at Ibrox, and I don’t think the media wants this can of worms opened and they certainly don’t want a clean SFA, because that would eliminate one of the Ibrox club’s last remaining strengths.
They want to do a hit-job on a single man, or perhaps take out a few other allegedly “Celtic minded” people at the top of the tree … none of what we’re watching here is being done for the benefit of the game as a whole.
But some of us do still care about that, and that’s why we’ll be watching with interest what happens, and I repeat what I did at the start; if their club exposes corruption than that’s all to the good because that should be dragged into the light.
If they expose corruption then that rips away the artifice that the game here is clean, and once that has been seen for the sham we Celtic fans have always said that it is, then we must leave no stone unturned in the quest to make it better.
At that point I don’t care who wants to stop, who wants to wield the sword once and then put it away lest they have to wade through ever more blood … once it starts it doesn’t stop, it cannot stop, until the job is done and done right.
Which is why I suspect it’ll never start.
Just a wee clarification here … I said that Collum is a Catholic; I actually have no idea whether he is or not, but he teaches in a Catholic school and that is what’s led to the widespread interpretation on their forums that he is some kind of enemy of their club. It actually makes them look even more bitter and backward than they are that they might not even be right on this point, as though his religion should serve as any indicator as to his football allegiance anyway; I want a lot of things declared for the record by refs but I couldn’t give a monkeys what their religious views are and nobody else should care either. It’s disgusting the way these Peepul view the world.
My old PE Teacher taught in a Catholic school. I know this because I went to a Catholic school. He was 3rd choice goalkeeper for the 1976 Treble winning Rangers team. So he clearly wasn’t a Catholic given Rangers didn’t sign them.
It won’t, unfortunately, as we all know, be any moment of reckoning. That lot will keep on moaning and things will go on as ever. They’ll probably get a dodgy pen the morra and we’ll have to deal with the usual shite even though we’re the ones who are supposed to have the SFA and refs in our back pocket. Which is, as we all know, a sick joke.
I really can’t fathom what the problem is. Was it a handball? Yes. Would it have been a penalty if their man wasn’t offside in the build up? Probably, yes. Why did Celtic take a goal kick instead of a free kick? Because the ref didn’t see the incident in question. But but but …. oh just shut up ya hun pricks.
I honestly hate them with every fibre of my being. I know that’s not healthy but I am too old to change.
Excellent!.
Welllllll, James
Happy New year .
It’s nice to see them losing it.
Fulapee Clement is appearing to becoming unhinged in a big way . It was never a pen because it was offside right enough.
Sevco Scotland won’t let this alone though
Nothing will change, the corruption in the SFA will continue . When we play them at grayskull next time will the real rangurrs turn up . Not a hope on he’ll with the dross they have and fulapee,s style of play .
I was howling with laughter before during and after the game .
A friend of mine of the ibrox persuasion after the game said but we get 15 million for winning the group stage of the fiddy cup. I asked if they would use that to pay loans or spunk it all on abdullah sima. He went quiet and never said another word. I fervently hope it all or most of it goes on the latter.
Happy New Year. They can not make a patsy out of a bunch of bad apple’s, let’s leave no stone unturned and , if they release one tape then they release all of them, from the beginning of this VAR farce and this incredible run of no penalties against, I think we all know that this will not end well for one particular club.
Bring it on.
They talk trash about us not getting any players sent off, mmm! They should have been down to 8 at least.
You honestly think that if these tramps uncover something unjust that we will be able to move forward. They will demand that every trophy column has reffed in is declared null and void and that’s not even an exaggeration
As I’ve said elsewhere, The Rangers and their fans should remember the old saying,
“Be careful what you wish for; you may get it!”
Andrew Dallas and Greg Aitken are KNOWN Ibrox devotees and in Aitken’s case at least, a mason who was inadvertently outed by his own bretheren when he was asked to do the huns a favour when officiating in a game involving them.
These people should be nowhere near games involving them or us, and that goes for Beaton and several others of his ilk.
I can see no alternative at present to bringing in outsiders until the corruption is finally cleansed from the Scottish game.
The hysteria around Saturdays game is astounding but not surprising from the dishonest media people in Scotland. Only a couple of decisions that looked to go against the Ibrox mob are being discussed and complained about nothing about the decisions that went against Celtic.
The incident where they think Bernardo should have had a 2nd yellow card could have resulted in a red card for Goldson for the follow through after winning the ball which caught Bernardo on his upper leg, I don’t think it was malicious but it was dangerous. Then we have the the malicious and dangerous tackle by Sterling on Taylor shortly after the Rangers player had been booked. Then we had the push on the back on Turnbull which was every bit as much of a penalty as the Johnston penalty incident, it isn’t even being discussed as offside was given against Turnbull in what was a closer call than the Sima offside decision in the 1st half.
It isn’t often I criticise Lennon and Sutton for not being in Celtics corner when discussing controversial incidents involving Celtic but on Saturday they fell into the trap of discussing only the incidents that the Sky editorial staff put their way.
The Celtic Board should be watching closely what direction this ridiculous Rangers pressure on the SFA takes, as the SFA hierarchy have always been well known to do anything to keep everyone happy down Ibrox way.
Scottish football has always been corrupt in favour of one team, we’ll watch with interest how much support Walsh and Collum get from their masters at Hampden.
To be honest Michael sevco Huns have got the SFA in their back pocket , everyone on here seems to forget the Cinch sponsorship that these cunts totally refused to accept ,Cinch has now dropped 2 years of their original deal because of sevco ,so what did the SFA and SPFL do ,they paid the Huns there cut of the sponsorship deal,only in bigoted jockland.
What a great piece of journalism. You are putting in print. What a f us think. That lot have had more penalties than L.E.Z.
Absolutely spot on James.
The most import paragraph spelling it out is the following:
“Because I don’t believe they do want justice over at Ibrox, and I don’t think the media wants this can of worms opened and they certainly don’t want a clean SFA, because that would eliminate one of the Ibrox club’s last remaining strengths.”
The Ibrox club do not want fairness. They want to be top dogs by foul means, because they know that they cannot be at the top by fair means. Cheating is in their nature. There are other clubs who would overtake them to challenge Celtic, as was beginning to happen in the years when they were in the lower leagues. Four or five other clubs were beginning to compete and win trophies, the best example being St Johnstone, but not the only one.
Let’s have an investigation. Let’s also have a 20 team league so each club only play each other twice. This will help all the other clubs compete.
Another cracking article, James. Happy New Year, and keep up the good work.
I find it interesting how sky sports handle these so called controversial decisions, when it involves us, its literally brushed over or not even worthy of comment. The David Turnbull incident being an example. When it involved Rangers it’s poured over, they even asked an English ref during broadcast for his opinion. This has become normal we have cheerleader Boyd taking shots at our club every week without any consequences. We have dubious decisions for Rangers near in weekly basis without the indepth investigation. Something isn’t right over at Sky Scotalnd and I suspect someone there has substantial leanings towards Ibrox. The whole broadcast seems to be one step away from Rangers tv. On a side note Neil Lennon was a disgrace, he must be looking a full time job there and tried his best to sound neutral. He wasn’t there to be neutral he was there to fight our corner. Highlight the absolute hypocrisy that Sky were pushing…instead he chose to he a lickspittle and play into it.
Hi James
A brilliant piece to start the New Year. The Ibrox/SFA axis is like of these countries that has all the formal apparatus of a democracy but is rotten to the core, led by corrupt deals that people file away to have something on someone rather that to take it down. And the only way these regimes survive is through the hangers on – the journalists who sell the professional ethics for a headline and access to the finger buffet, to the chair of a third league so he can sit first class in the national team flight, for accountants who knowingly let a company trade whilst insolvent. I could go on on and on. The SFA is not fit for purpose. We had a different problem in the FAI we had a corrupt chair and an indolent board which eventually was got rid of by the Irish Government. Similar action needs to be taken by the Scottish Government. Until that structure and personnel are removed there will be another example after another. As for the MOPES most oppressed people ever the only victims ever at Ibrox were the 66 poor souls who died because of an unsafe stadium
Great piece of writing.. “hypocrisy” the people who are connected to “the rangers” wouldn’t be able to spell it let alone understand the meaning of it.
I’m often surprised by the “west of Scotland” reference when referring to bias and bigotry. All of us know it as well as those in the west if not more so. It is an “all of Scotland” problem.
You’re right broxburnBhoy Fife is another rife breeding ground for all this stuff,I remember as a lad 55 years ago , orange walks,and they still go on to this day , Scotland is a bigoted rotten little country.
The ranting coming out of Ibrox land is most definitely hypocrisy ,but what I find even more disgraceful is that the entire SMSM has a bulge on its neck that you could tow a truck from with their anger , frustration and disappointment at Celtic playing the tribute act off the park on Saturday . They are now implying that Scottish football appears to be bent whilst drinking their blue Curacao cocktails …..talk about selective criticism from the world class hypocrites that they excel at being …
Lest we forget the moon howling that went on when a referee had the gall to award a penalty against Sevco, he wasn’t seen at a game of theirs for months.
If Walsh or Collum is nowhere to be seen at Snake Mountain for the next months then we MUST initiate an investigation because we cannot have a manky dog tail wagging the mangy biased SFA or LRA.
Poor rangers(servco,zombiefc) have gone two full spl games without getting a penalty ??
Totally agree James, this is nothing more than a scam from the scum and aided by SKY for officials to follow the agenda in helping the scum out in every given opportunity.
SKY made total eejits out of themselves by not even covering a potential offside, as only interested in promoting how hard done by the scum had been been?
How ridiculous the statement sounds, when VAR has only been used to help out the shower of shite.
This is nothing more than getting gormless gollom removed from been removed from been involved with any game involving the scum, just cause they can’t control him in the manner that they would like to with following an agenda cast in stone?
Will be interesting to see what the SFA will do upon the matter, but suspect that they will pamper as usual towards the scum, especially when they set the agenda in play, in the first place and tried to protect it ever since?
The level of corruption and blatant cheating has destroyed the Scottish game for decades now, and actually got worse since the introduction of VAR.
The cheek of ourselves to actually benefit from VAR was never meant to be allowed, especially against the scum.
So SKY let there masks slip massively and as a club we should be challenging there coverage and bias against ourselves also.
Along with that fake looking cow with TNT on European nights?
Watching Celtic matches from these bias organisations against ourselves is becoming a huge chore for our support to overcome lately and getting worse also.
So hopefully the whole can of worms could be opened up, as we have waited and been calling it out for many a long year now?
But we already know that the agenda set in stone has to be protected at all costs within Scottish football, so just more bullshit will be added to satisfying the scum cheerleaders, as the agenda cannot be challenged instead just reinforced by the scum imo?
as corporal jones might have put it james….”they don’t like it up ’em,,,,,they go not like it up them sir “….