On Monday, we all wondered what the SFA would throw at us this week. We knew there would be a curveball, and we knew it would come out of left field. But what they did is so surprising that instead of detonating over Celtic Park like a megaton bomb, it’s detonated over Ibrox instead. Everything we feared about getting Beaton is multiplied, massively, on their side of the city by the decision to give the game to Willie Collum. It is their nightmare scenario.
There are a lot of us who don’t believe our club does enough when it comes to tackling the thorny issue of officiating. Beaton should not be near Celtic games; there isn’t a one of us who does not believe that. But the most heinous charge our club has publicly levelled against Beaton is when our manager called him incompetent.
The Ibrox club has not once, but twice, effectively called Willie Collum a cheat, and demanded he not officiate their matches, and there are people who will tell you that strategy has worked for them, and in some ways it has, because he hasn’t gotten a game that involves them in the league since they made that demand.
But see, that’s where the danger lies for them.
Collum refereed a Scottish Cup game shortly after that demand. But it was a low-key afternoon.
I am moved to wonder if there’s not a simpler explanation for what we’ve witnessed; is there a belief, at Hampden, that Collum would be in significant danger if he refereed in front of a full house at Ibrox or in a league match involving their club with something major at stake and where large numbers of their fans were present?
That’s not a crazy idea when the club paints a target on somebody’s back the way they did here. The SFA badly let Collum down in not giving him league games against them up until now … but in terms of his personal safety, perhaps this is the only reasonable choice in what’s left of the current campaign. With only Celtic fans in the stadium, it might be the only circumstance in which the SFA feels that Willie Collum will be safe refereeing one of their games.
This is not a great stretch when you consider what Celtic fans, players and officials have had to endure at that same ground. It’s also easy to believe when the club itself claimed not to be able to protect a member of the broadcast media.
There have been no such unsavoury incidents at Parkhead. In fact, the only serious incident involving an Ibrox official during a match against Celtic in recent memory was when a coach in their women’s team, Craig McPherson, physically assaulted Celtic women’s manager Fran Alonso in March last year, for which he served a six match ban.
The SFA would never admit that Collum has been kept away from games against that club out of concern for his safety, but it’s either that or they kowtowed to a club’s demands.
The SFA can’t be seen to let a club pick and choose who gets to referee it; the appearance that it has done so has been devastating to their credibility, and must leave other officials staggered.
But if they felt Collum might be at risk then the decision is obviously easier to understand, as is the reason why there’s been no official statement on this. It’s a nasty business overall.
So, of course Collum will referee the game on Saturday, and in hindsight we should probably have seen this coming, because whatever decisions he makes at the weekend, he certainly does not have to worry about being physically harmed either on or coming off the pitch, and after the Ibrox club made sure to let their fans know that they consider him a cheat the same cannot be said, with perfect confidence, for anywhere their supporters are to be found in large numbers.
Our concerns over John Beaton are about his known interests and loyalties, but our worries over the last couple of games which have involved him were as much to do with the controversy that blew up after Tynecastle as they were about the decisions he made that day. Beaton had been called incompetent by Brendan Rodgers, and if he was in the mood to settle scores for that he was given not one but two opportunities to do so.
Imagine how Willie Collum must feel, whether the SFA was motivated to keep him away from games involving the Ibrox club for his own safety, or if their motives were more sinister and they actually caved under the pressure of that shocking demand. Either way, if this was us, Willie Collum is the very last person I would want officiating this game.
I have long believed that one of the most blatantly wrong decisions in the history of Scottish football officiating is also one of the most misunderstood; in the 1999 game at Celtic Park between our club and Rangers, Hugh Dallas sent off Stephane Mahe for a second bookable offence, allegedly for dissent, after he had been the victim, himself, of a vicious Neil McCann tackle. As Mahe was leaving the field, in tears, a Celtic fan threw a coin which hit Dallas on the head.
Now, Dallas should have been removed from the game at that point; the Mahe decision was hugely controversial, the match was a league decider, played in an incredibly hostile atmosphere, and Dallas had been felled by something thrown by one of our fans.
Nobody will ever convince me that he should have been allowed to carry on officiating that game. The media in Scotland lionised Dallas for continuing, and even more so because within seconds of getting back to his feet and re-starting the match he gave a penalty kick against us … but that’s the point I’m trying to make.
Even with the best will in the world, any referee would be unduly influenced against the home club after being struck by an object thrown by one of their fans, whether out of anger, or even just a determination to assert his authority on the proceedings … for the sake of the integrity of the game and the safety of Dallas himself, the SFA should have withdrawn him immediately. He was hailed as a hero for giving that penalty instead.
Imagine yourself in Willie Collum’s shoes. Imagine refereeing a game involving the Ibrox club for the first time since your integrity was called into question by that club. If you were kept away from them because of safety concerns, you’d be pissed. If you were kept away from them because your bosses bottled it and caved in to the pressure they applied, you’d be pissed. There are no circumstances under which Collum will be a welcome sight as far as the Ibrox club are concerned.
Last night, their websites were aflame with fury over this decision, and perhaps the most ironic thing about it is that in trying to initially appear tough in front of their fans, the Ibrox club now looks hopeless weak in the eyes of those same supporters for “allowing this” … it’s a classic example of what the CIA calls “blowback”; the unforeseen, and unwanted consequences of running an operation without thinking it all the way through, and which produces a result which circles back around and turns on those who set it in motion.
And what’s truly remarkable about this is that it will only add to the sense of swirling anger and thwarted entitlement over there, which has seen players rage at fans, one taking sniper shots at the manager and the manager himself snapping at Brendan Rodgers … all in the last few days, and every single bit of it distracting all inside Ibrox from the task at hand.
Again, I’m not saying we’re going to win this, or that the win itself, if we’re going to get it, will be easy … but I would be grievously concerned if this was us, in this state, about to go there and three points behind with a handful of games left. Even at a club which was highly disciplined and capable of staying calm and not getting sucked into madness, it would be difficult to focus with all this going on, and they don’t meet that definition. That’s not who they are.
I don’t feel particularly good about getting Willie Collum for this game either, because it’s not impossible that he’ll give them everything, subconsciously or not, and try to find a way back to the rotation for next season … but it’s hard not to conclude that this is far more inherently dangerous to their club than even John Beaton would have been to ours, for the reasons I’ve already outlined, and if they feel that the task got a little bit harder with that announcement then I would agree that they’re right, but that’s the price you pay for behaving the way they do.
James i have just read your article about Willie Collum, and i have to say i feel uneasy about his appointment for this game.I feel like this for the reason you alluded to near the end of your piece.Remember what happened after the last game, the furore from over Ipox way about him being a cheat and all the other nonsense things that were said about him.I think the pressure will be on and he may lean more towards them on Saturday as far as decisions are concerned, and also if he wants to officiate at any more of their games either at their dump or any other football ground it may effect his as you say decision making either subconsciously or consciously who knows,maybe i am being paranoid fingers crossed we beat them fair and square with no contentious decisions going their way…HailHail
Can agree wi that, tho there’s a flip side as well. Ahm fine with Collum gettin the game. Tbh and tae his credit, although he can be controversial, ah’ve always thought he does try tae officiate fairly and ah definitely think he’s always been one official, who disnae fear givin close calls for, or against ANY team. He’s goin tae be under severe scrutiny from the ibrox faction here, nae doubt about that. Hopefully, he disnae allow the pressure and scrutiny he’s been and is gonnae be under in this game (and we know it’ll be from one particular institution), tae affect his judgement or decisions.
I don’t think either James that Collum be given this game, subconsciously he will give them most of the decisions and be scared he is not a target once again…..
As an aside James Stuart Calls comments about Calumn ” being sorted out” on Saturday could mean a few things as we know……..the so called media will not pull him up on that one like Brendan was with “good girl”. or “have a bit of fun”
‘Stuart Mcoll”. that is 🙂
This is a ridiculous decision, the same as Beaton was but not for the reasons you might think. Collum is going to be under huge pressure more than any other ref would be. They couldn’t pick Beaton again so they went for the next most controversial appointment they could. I hope the ref has no impact on the game but it’s very unlikely. Why keep him away from their games only to give him this one? It’s just daft. Maybe this is Crawford Allen creating a piece of evidence so he can say “see, I wasn’t biased”. Nae bother
Not good for us to get back in the good books of course he will lean towards sevco
James, the ridiculous Stephane Mahe incident still rankles to this day. He was an excellent player that was assaulted on the pitch (workplace) by a wee turd and sent off for nothing. Dallas deserved to be sacked for his biased performance. The penalty was another absolute travesty. I’ll never forgive Dallas or McCann.
H.H.
@ David. Mahe wasn’t sent aff for nothin mate. Mc Cann, bein the wee fly man he was, did get involved wi him, tho Mahe had already been booked earlier and totally lost the plot when he shouldve known better. And if ye watch it, dallas actually warns him about twice for his conduct. Mahe continues tae freak out and dallas eventually reds him. Mahe only himself tae blame. Nae point in bein blinkered about it. Just sayin.
I didn’t like Dallas touching van bronckhursts bum as if he was a mate that is what started all the criticism and the fans felt Dallas was cheating
Of course he will be controlled by VAR. WC doesn’t stand a chance. He’s being set up as the fall guy !!
I think Collum will let the game flow better than the likes of Beaton/Walsh or Dickinson, they all use the whistle to stop Celtic building up any momentum, a sneaky tactic but extremely effective, if that proves to be the case, I’m even more confident that we will win comfortably.
I think you are completely underestimating the vindictiveness of the SFA here.
They are setting this guy up.
This game will determine wether he has a career as an official or not.
There is not a chance in jell he will award anything against them.
Pure and simply the SFA is covering their arses by this appointment, no bias , HA!
Collum would be nowhere near this match if it was at ibrokes.
Hopefully he’s not controlled by VAR to be seen to be pandering to sevco ,hence meaning the peepul will forgive and forget.
The thought crossed my mind on Monday that Collum might get the game, but for different reasons.
We know what the SFA are and what they’d like to see happen on Saturday. So Collum is under pressure if he wants to get games involving them again next season.
I think unless something is 100% stonewall in our favour we will get nothing from him. He wont want to risk the backlash again, knowing it will be even worse next time as this game is for the title.
Hope I am wrong, but I am worried.
The SFA/ SPFL know that the league has gone for theRangers so give Collum the derby gig ! Beaton will be kept under wraps for the cup final ? He’ll be like a frantic hot rod …ready to percolate? Free beer at the Crown bar all Summer long !
If what you surmise is true, then Ibrox should be closed, end of story, and Celtic bloggers should hammer this home at every opportunity. What other place of work would be allowed to stay open if it was a danger for outside contractors to work in, especially when the owners themselves were first to bring it into public knowledge, i.e., Sutton and Lennon? Wuld the SFA, SPFL, or whoever, be so protective of Celtic`s reputation if the ball was on the other foot?
This is an opportunity for Celtic minded sites to “campaign” for the closure of this Hellhole and keep it up until Glasgow Corporation gets involved. I wonder what Auld Shug would say if
his favourites were under pressure to keep their coup open for safety reasons.
If, God forbid, that something serious did happen at this HH, who would take the blame?
Oh, silly me, I forgot, it would be Peter Lawwell.
Celtic just need to keep the heid…
Don’t get embroiled in any of the nonsense. Cantwell will be diving and niggling all over the park.
We need to avoid the needless bookings that put players in next yellow/red country.
We need to play to our own strengths in quick wing play and ball to Kyogo.
The handball in the box nonsense can also lead to pens, ridiculous in some circumstances.
Start confident, play our football, be creative and take our chances,
All going well should be a good victory for the Celts against the heedless hackers.
Winning against McInnes team will be sweet.
Rodgers lives rent free in the Belgian Waffler’s napper.
I see things a bit differently.
What the Willie Colum appointment suggests to me, is that the SFA and their refereeing brotherhood have given up on their favourite team. They are now unwilling to help them if they cannot do their part by rising to the occasion and helping themselves. They have run out of brownie points and been cast aside like an old rag. What a shame for their follow, followers, how will they possibly cope with a level playing field.
Collum ,like most Journalists are got at ! and will not write anything bad about Rangers. Fear will keep them on board, who can protect them if they don’t comply. house set on fire,car set alight windows smashed.police that cant protect Chris Sutton at Ibrox.
He’s as likely to be as much a disaster for us, as them.
All as above plus the fact that he is a Prima Donna on the Park.
It’s all about him being the Star of the event.
Difficult to make a definitive judgement as to his suitability for this match as all the ‘pros & cons’ havé merit.
If I’m pushed I think he will, despite the treatment the DebtDome’s hierarchy have inflicted on him, he will favour The Tribute Act.
I’ve always felt when he’s officiated at ANY of our games he has either consciously set out to try and deny his perceived Catholic background as influencing his decision making to our benefit or the pressure on him is so intense he reflexively over thinks situations and makes a balls up of things. I say ‘perceived Catholic background’ when actually all that’s in the Public Domain is that he teaches Religious Studies. I think that his ‘Religion’ is probably the knuckledragger’s extrapolation because they just don’t like him and if he’s a’ Tim’ that fits neatly into their worldview of the ‘ Unseen Fenian Hand ‘ at work.
I will throw into the mix that I just don’t actually rate him as a Referee. I’ve seen him being just as poor in games that don’t involve Celtic or Sevco.
I just hope we win and there are no contentious decisions in our favour.
I was going to sort of disagree with you, James, until I read the last paragraph. I’m not that delighted he’s the Ref either. I think he’s over officious, plays to the gallery and not as good as he thinks he is, well, apart from having eyes in the back of his head…
However, I don’t think he’s biased: just not that good. Which is more than can be said for the rest of them….
Hopefully, we turn in the performance that we require and get the job done. HH ?
James you are only half right , Dallas actually turned to Paul Lambert after the coin incident and said tell your mates to be careful they don’t give away a penalty, next minute bang penalty . you are correct he was bursting to even the score and of course he did.