The Yang Appeal Decision Is A Corrupt Joke. Celtic Should Be Furious About It.

In a move that will surprise absolutely no-one, the SFA has rejected Celtic’s appeal against the Yang dismissal when that one should have been a certain victory for the club, and they didn’t even take the idea of the appeal particularly seriously. The signs were obvious.

I knew this afternoon what the decision would be. I knew it the moment both Robertson and Beaton were given a Scottish Cup quarter final.

Neither of them should be near a major competition game in the aftermath of the weekend, and that they were so swiftly given a high-profile match was a public vote of confidence in them both which Collum certainly didn’t get following the Ibrox club’s criticism of him.

The referee’s association screamed hysterically, something else they failed to do in defence of Collum, and they have gotten their way.

In dismissing Yang’s appeal, the SFA is standing by their men. Rodgers is also now almost certain to find himself in the dock over the comments, and will face a touchline ban. Celtic have to be going tonto over this, it’s so blatant. They sent a signal before our appeal had even been properly considered. There was no prospect at all of us winning it.

Celtic now has to decide how it responds to this. There is no point in tub-thumping unless it’s combined with action. It’s high time we started putting this stuff to rights and an announcement that we are no longer willing to pay for VAR would be a step forward. It has been weaponised against us and in rejecting the appeal in the manner they’ve done the SFA has expressed clear contempt for the club. And because we’ve been weak in the past we probably deserve it.

This title race could very well be decided by the officials, and if it is decided by them (and let’s not mess about, we know in whose favour that would happen) Celtic fans are going to have more reason than ever to be pissed off with those who run our club.

Because we’ve allowed this to go on for far too long. Refereeing reform is not complicated or difficult. Bring in the rules they have in England. Allow the league to consider referees from outside the SFA. Hire VAR professionals from elsewhere … or we stop paying for it and let the other clubs, those which want to, pick up the slack. Most won’t want to.

And commit – finally – to working with others towards a root and branch clear-out of the whole way in which Scottish refereeing works. Introduce a system of accountability.

Make these people pay for the mistakes that they make and there’ll be a lot less of them. Instead, two of the most incompetent (or corrupt) refs in the country have just been rewarded instead, and their work signed off on as though they’d turned in an A plus paper instead of dogshit vomited off ChatGPT.

Listen, the SFA are a corrupt shower.

The culture in that place stinks to high heaven. When a head of referees feels like he’s working in a place where he can send out sectarian emails that says it all.

That he lost his job for it anyway doesn’t change the fact that he believed there would be a general acceptance of that act. Nothing has changed in there.

So, whilst I have no doubt that Celtic will be unhappy, that unhappiness cannot be allowed to manifest itself in some foot stamping and huffing. If we don’t take action then we deserve everything we get. These Peepul are laughing at us tonight.