Yesterday, as the minutes ticked away in front of empty Hampden seats, the Motherwell coaching staff eyed the fourth official, wondering what kind of time they’d have added on to aid their quest to salvage a point. They were aghast – their manager has admitted as much – when the fourth official added on two minutes.
It is this kind of inexplicable, not to say nonsensical, to say nothing for highly suspect, decision making that poses the gravest threat to Willie Collum in his role as the head of refereeing. He has promised more openness and transparency; last weekend we had two dreadful calls and that was another one.
We need explanations for them all, and if he thinks that this isn’t a good use of his time then he is dead wrong. Does he intend to deliver or is he another guy talking a good game? It’s not even that, it’s that so many of these decisions lean in one direction and that does require some scrutiny and an explanation.
To add two minutes on yesterday is flatly ridiculous considering that there was almost a full compliment of substitutions, and enough stoppages to warrant a couple of minutes on their own. Two minutes doesn’t even come close to what should have been added there and there’s a not unreasonable suspicion that had the home club been chasing a late goal that there would have been plenty more time for them to get it.
What are we to assume here except that we’ve had a start to the season here which looks more like business as usual than anything that suggests we’ve had much change? Perhaps more refereeing leniency comes with the Hampden rental fee?
Collum has to know that no matter how much he does behind the scenes his officials can sink all his good work by continuing to turn in dire displays. The questions they raise become questions about what he intends to do to change things, and if the answer to that is nothing then he’ll go the same way as his predecessors did.
Collum has never been my favourite official, but he’s too smart not to know that the game here cannot have another season like the last one, when clubs would voted to end VAR and God knows what else. But the problem never was with the technology; it is with officials who didn’t think that was a penalty at Tynecastle, who allowed that assault on Kyogo last weekend and who added on a mere two minutes yesterday.
If he’s seeking answers he needs to start asking the right questions and pointing his finger at the right targets.
Our officials are a joke, whether they are biased, corrupt or whatever it might be. He should be looking for answers about those decisions … and he should be offering those answers to the clubs which want them and the public who watch the games.
You know, like he said he would.
Dreadful system or Dreadful cheat !!
The only way we’ll get answers from the refs about their scandalous decisions is if Celtic put in an official complaint with the threat to involve UEFA, if nothing is said or done it will be carry on as usual and personally I don’t think our board are interested as long as the money keeps coming in
Clancy has a lot to answer for here because it is the referee who decides how much stoppage time to add. The 4th official merely does what he is told by holding up the board to notify those in the ground. Wierdly the ibrox fans loathe and despise Clancy even more than we do.
6 minutes added on in the 1st half at hampden
James, we had 6 minutes. 4 of which were for Mikey Johnstone injury. I had no problem with that. I would hope that common sense applies and nine or ten minutes added on time are very rare unlike last season
I got a guy with a swanky mobi in the pub last night (He’s a Hearts fan by the way that’s why I targeted him for this favour and a drink for his troubles) – But I got him to show four English lads up on holiday the Cheating from The Cheats with Whistles, Flags and Monitors last weekend at Tynecastle and Parkhead and they were utterly and truly ASTONISHED TO CORE !
They simply couldn’t believe what they seen…
Ok – It’s only four folk – They certainly weren’t ‘Peepil’ – But anyway Four are better than none and I felt good after I done that !
Well done Sir!
The 2nd half was so bad in the Motherwell game maybe the ref just wanted to go home. Motherwell were the more likely team to score though and it should have been at least 6 minutes added. 2 mins makes no sense, what happened to 30 seconds for a sub? Plus genuine injury time. There’s already a few decisions that need to ‘even themselves out over the season’. No chance of that.
Two weeks in a row a Celtic player has been assaulted by an opposition goalkeeper and nothing done or said about it other than there had been a (perfunctory) VAR check.
Indeed Celtic had to make a concussion substitution yesterday as a result.
Is this OK with everyone?
This , the hand ball at Tynecastle and Kyogo clattered by the keeper last week
Starting as they mean to go on
On another note, long way to go or not, I just want to be the first to state that Brendan and the Bhoys are well on course for another Invincible season.