This weekend The Empire struck back. Celtic fans aren’t safe from Honest Mistakes yet.

I’m not the biggest fan of the Star Wars series, but I do have a fondness for the original trilogy. For all its outdated effects and sometimes wooden acting, there’s something timeless about it. The third movie, in particular, amuses me. It’s practically a subversive classic, reimagining the Vietnam War but from the perspective of the Vietnamese.

But of course the best film in the trilogy is the sequel, The Empire Strikes Back, which is rightly heralded as one of the greatest follow-ups in film history.

The Empire Strikes Back does something exceptionally well: it flips the script of the first movie and leaves the Rebel Alliance in tatters by the end.

Only recently, I learned that Jonathan V. Last, from The Bulwark podcast (which I’ve mentioned here before), is the originator of a theory I’ve always found entertaining—that the Empire are, in fact, the “good guys” in Star Wars. And following this idea, it is the second film we should all be cheering, not the first or third, which both conclude with Death Star explosions.

In Scottish football this weekend, we saw our own version of The Empire Strikes Back, only there’s no doubt who the villains are. The bad guys had their place in the spotlight and they made use of it. After a few weeks of VAR decisions that seemed relatively fair, we had no fewer than four major controversies yesterday. At least three of these decisions were blatantly wrong, and it’s going to be fascinating to see how VAR officials try to defend their calls.

Because, of course, there is a pattern here for those who know to look for it.

Last week, I praised the new SFA-led VAR review show, overseen by Willie Collum. I stand by that praise. The concept is sound, and it should keep officials on their toes. So, to witness four major decisions within a single weekend, from two separate sets of officials, and yet all basically benefiting one side of the Glasgow divide, is astonishing.

Let’s call them “mistakes,” though I have my doubts that’s what they really were.

The godfathers of “honest mistakes” may have suffered a setback with Collum’s efforts, but they’ve hardly been defeated. This weekend, they emerged from the shadows to remind us they’re not going anywhere soon.

Consider the incident involving Celtic’s Maeda, whose penalty shout was as clear-cut as they come. It wasn’t complicated; it was a straightforward decision. Instead of focusing on whether he handled the ball into the net – he clearly did; I didn’t hear Willie Miller or others speaking up for him either – VAR should have been asking whether or not there was a shove to send him to the ground. And yes, it was a foul—undeniably. Someone, somewhere, is going to have to answer for that, and they deserve a sharp reprimand at the very least.

And all of us are going to be very interested to hear the explanation that is offered for it. It looks blatant to me. If the VAR officials saw something else, I want to know what it was.

This incident happened with the game still poised at 1-0, so let’s not pretend it was inconsequential. And I don’t buy the argument that VAR did Celtic a favour with the later red card. That is a red card all day, every day, and frankly, I’m shocked the referee didn’t immediately recognize it as such. He was right there, clearly saw it, and only issued a yellow.

The Fir Park decision is atrocious on its own, even if taken in isolation. But over at Ibrox, two other calls both conveniently favoured the home side, along with another one that was, in many ways, swept under the carpet with suspicious haste.

Let’s start with that one; the offside decision that denied St Mirren their second goal. We’re told that VAR checked it, but from the TV angle, it didn’t appear offside. Yet VAR lines were supposedly drawn to show that it was. And here we go again with these “hand-drawn” VAR lines, which have already sparked debates about whether the system is fit for purpose.

But let’s set that aside for a moment and look at the Connor Barron high boot tackle. According to Behind the Whistle, this was a shocker, and they’ve already torn apart the decision not to have VAR rule that a sending off. When I finally saw the footage myself, my mind instantly went to Yang’s red card at Tynecastle. It’s almost the exact same situation.

In fact, Behind the Whistle explicitly referenced that decision as the textbook case—if Yang’s was a red, then so was Barron’s.

And what have we been saying about Barron? He’s the new darling of the media, touted as the next big thing, and, like many others before him at Ibrox, appears to enjoy a certain level of immunity. A straight red in that match would have had severe consequences for their line-up on Wednesday. So, let’s not pretend that wasn’t a factor in the decision. It’s scandalous, especially when you look back at the calls we’ve endured.

Then we come to St Mirren’s penalty claim, which anyone who’s watched it properly would call a clear foul. But not only did the referee fail to give it—VAR didn’t either. Instead, they ruled it out and the ref called it back for an earlier foul. It’s ridiculous. VAR is supposed to catch these things, review them, and correct the initial call if necessary.

So, what’s the excuse for not giving it?

Apparently, the VAR angle wasn’t good enough. Well, if the VAR angle isn’t good enough for that, how on earth are they so certain about the offside call for the goal? It’s laughable, an insult to fans’ intelligence and a slap in the face to anyone who follows the game.

We’re repeatedly told VAR made a mistake. But it’s not VAR that’s at fault; it’s the people running it. They’re either hopelessly inept or worse, making “mistakes” that seem awfully convenient for certain teams. I’m done with hearing that VAR is the issue.

The issue lies with our officials.

This weekend, the Empire struck back. The old order, the “Brotherhood,” reasserted itself, and it’s painfully clear that the problems with the SFA run deep. Out of all the big decisions this weekend, the ones that mattered most went against Celtic and favoured the home team at Ibrox. Coincidence? Not in a million years.

This was the old guard reminding us they’re still here, that they’re not going anywhere. Willie Collum may have arrived with the best of intentions, but he’s going to need to do more than put out a podcast if he genuinely intends to clean up this mess.