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Hibs Face Sanctions For Their Little Ibrox Joke. Is This Still Only Celtic’s Problem?

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Which part of the following statement have Hibs failed to understand here? The SFA’s officiating scandal does not just affect Celtic. This morning, on the back of a lamentable decision that their manager bottled out of discussing his feelings on, they might be getting charged anyway. Because of a joke. The governing bodies in this country are the joke.

Yes, Hibs are facing an SFA sanction for the Tweet, the one I wrote the article about yesterday, the one which highlighted how widespread the belief is in the Scottish football theory of “penalty to Sevco.” It’s a fact of life here. Every club factors it in when they come to Glasgow or when that club goes to visit them. It has become part of the routine.

You think of Crawford Allan, forced to hand in his I Love Hugh Dallas pencil sharpener, settling some scores and burning a couple of offices down whilst he waits for his formal termination at the end of this campaign and you wonder just how deep officiating in this country will sink before he finally slinks off and stops embarrassing the game like this.

That’s what decision making in Scottish football is now; an embarrassment. A joke, on the rest of us, because when you can’t even joke about a governing body which won’t govern, when you can’t even take the piss out of an organisation which is either bent or stinking of incompetence then we’re not far away from finally plumbing the depths.

For years here in Scotland too many clubs have been content to put all this stuff off as “conspiracy theories” and “West of Scotland” garbage; it’s never been either of those things. SFA complicity in the sins of Rangers was well documented. Celtic brought down an SFA President and should have hounded another out of office. The head of referees was relieved of his duties in a scandal involving a sectarian email … you’re not paranoid if they’re really out to get you.

Why has it taken so long for some people to wake up to the bald facts here? Every time a decision goes the way of Ibrox, to smooth the way towards the next three points or the next round of the cup or that walk up the steps of Hampden to collect one that affects all of us. Because Celtic aren’t always the team on the wrong end of those decisions … and so every team in this league has, at one time or another, been the victim of the stuff that we all know is going on.

Hibs got screwed yesterday, and if that wasn’t enough their manager didn’t even feel confident enough to risk a sanction.

They’re getting sanctioned anyway because of the joke, and that makes them a laughing stock if they accept it, but it makes Scotland a laughing stock because for too long certain people at Hampden have behaved like this and across the game other people have been just fine with that. Ibrox can demand that refs don’t get games and they escape any punishment.

They leak it to their fan sites that they think certain officials are bent – not incompetent, bent – and nothing happens. Hibs Twitter account does something for a laugh and that could be detrimental to the health of Scottish football. And I suppose that’s true when Scottish football is run by a tiny cabal, for the benefit of one club.

But they’re not the problem anymore. The problem now is the silence. The silence of every other club in this league. The failure to get a grip on this and demand real changes.

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12 comments

  • Kevan McKeown says:

    Fk their threats, sanctions, bans and cover up’s. Act now and keep at them, nae matter how out of hand it gets. Make the other European bodies aware of what’s goin on here and eventually they will get involved. Force the change.

  • Bigchunkylardass says:

    It’ll be interesting ti see how the horrifically authoritarian hate crime bill impacts on the Ibrox hoards, their songbook, as well as the TV companies who broadcast their games…

  • Clachnacuddin and the Hoops says:

    I am able to send a post to this and one other Celtic Forum – (I might do more but cannot get into the rest to do it)…

    The young team (when I see them) say the bowser (whatever that is) is too old, (probably just like myself) so it clear as crystal that I’m not the most tech savvy guy out there and I honestly wouldn’t have a scooby what Intrisijam, whatsup, twitter or tweeter is whatsoever…

    But when they (the cabal) made the rules (we know they obviously do as they go along) did they alter them to include charges involving twitter or tweeter…

    If not do The Hi-Bees have a case of defence here then…

    Or will they just like their spineless manager roll over, lay down once again…

    Their manager strangely enough (or perhaps on hindsight not) had plenty to say and was shouting from the rooftops when we got that injury time penalty winner at Easter Road so he did…

    Speaking of Easter Road…

    Happy Easter to one and all and Good Luck to The Hoops today and watch the Cheats with whistles, flags and monitors on that plastic pitch which makes Scotland the laughing stock of world football so it does amongst many many other things as well !

  • Bob (original) says:

    If you’ve ever kicked a football, you know that wasn’t a penalty.

    Watching multiple replays, you can see that not one sevco player complains.

    The ref [presumably] didn’t hear any shouts of complaints,

    – and he saw nothing wrong either. Play on.

    But, someone watching a TV screen – in a remote location – effectively

    over ruled the ref, and put him under intense pressure to review the incident

    in front of 50K foaming bears.

    VAR is an absolute farce,

    …and the match officials on the pitch remain incompetent – as ever.

  • SFATHENADIROFCHIFTINESS says:

    Nailed it James.
    As I pointed out on a post yesterday, The Tribute Act without the Brotherly helping hands would be a mid table team at best and that the other Clubs in the League, not just Celtic, are losing out on potential European places and the revenue that brings and all due to the ‘assisted progression’ in The Tribute Acts favour.
    The shocking decisions on a weekly basis can influence the top 6 split. It can even determine which Club gets relegated.
    It can deny Clubs advancing in the Cup Tournaments.

    It’s, as you say, baked in. And yet they all remain silent about it.
    This issue is now reaching a nexus point and I wouldn’t be surprised if some fan or fans tried to take matters into their own hands. At a very basic level, just imagine the scenario where some punter loses out of thousands on an accumulator bet because a match is decided by a not so ‘honest mistake’ or spurious VAR decision and decided to have a go at the official concerned.There would be a melt down in public with the media wading in.

    It’s the 21st Century FFS. This has got to stop. It’s not cheating, that’s what weans or partners do. It’s outright Corruption. It’s defrauding the paying Customers. At its extreme it’s interfering with the participating players livliehood or career opportunities.
    All to benefit a corrupt, racist, religiously bigoted Club and by extension their their likeminded support.

  • Peterbrady says:

    Next week let’s all have a game of sevco bingo what minute sevco pen what minute VAR impedes Celtic what time after the cheating will statement from Celtic corporate board in plain sight.

  • SSMPM says:

    Seriously. The problem now is silence, that’s a laugh. That silence and acceptance has been ongoing for years at this club.
    We spoke up, challenged and found them out historically, years ago.
    Then back to silence and acceptance and I repeat it has been ongoing for years from those that have been in charge of our club. In charge that’s a laugh.
    To expect Hibs to stand up when we accept it is some sort of weird political spin. We accepted it last week, punishment and all. Now somehow we expect Hibs to do the challenging our club doesn’t. Seriously?
    What challenging words have you heard from our board before or since. It’s left to Brendan as it was left to AP.
    It’s all words, talk from us and nothing from our club

  • Jim says:

    Hopefully now the cat is out of the bag the MIB might think twice about decisions their compelled to make on regarding where the title goes.

    Can only hope .

  • Effarr says:

    Surely, as the majority on here were quick to point out, if Rodgers was really guilty of breaking SFA regulations, then Hibs have a case to answer. They should go for that well known Irish KC Nick O’ Deemus to put the SFA in its place.

  • The Real McCoy says:

    Sorry James.
    Did you not have an opinion about the ‘Hate Crime ‘
    legislation ?.
    It all hinges on the ‘ Other’ taking offence.
    Inference? It’s all about what the others think.
    Why ? Because it’s plainly obvious to followers of this site that the inference is yet another “ Penalty To Rangers “. ( P.S. my autocorrect suggested that phrase before I typed it).
    However, what if the Hibs blog/ feed was suggesting what minute will big Bushiri or one of our defenders come a cropper and commit a game defining foul in the penalty box?
    It’s all in the interpretation and you , more than most, understand semantics.
    All the best.

  • Horsis says:

    Really have to laugh when people comment and use the name Liewell. Lawwell, the sarcasm of the name wore off years ago.

  • Thomas Daly says:

    Jorge cadette,ANYONE

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