Every sentient person in this country knows what happened on Sunday, and even now the media is in full-blown meltdown mode over it.
But I ask you, have you ever seen a reaction like this? Isn’t it incredible? We discussed this on the podcast last night, where all three of myself, Joe and Eric agreed that the debate over this has become absolutely hysterical.
This result has hit them like a sledgehammer. It’s the worst-case scenario for them—thinking they were so close, only to have it snatched away.
I’ve seen results upset them before, but this one is off the charts.
As the furore continues, with several outlets claiming that the SFA has now “accepted” that they got the decision wrong, the media stands accused of taking increasingly desperate measures, which culminated last night in their drafting in a sometimes guest on Ibrox fan media podcasts—disgraced former official Mike McCurry.
This is the same Rev. Mike McCurry who was filmed leading his congregation in a pro-Ibrox song and who, back in 2008, so enraged Craig Levein that he became the subject of an unforgettable on-air meltdown.
If you’ll pardon the analogy—horrible as it is—this feels a bit like bringing in Harold Shipman to give a talk on patient care.
At the start of the month, I did a spoof piece, a satirical article written in the voice of a “former Grade One official.”
It was the Bobby Maddhun article, which you can read here. Last night, I was tempted to consider another article under the same byline, but today I feel like the writers of The Thick of It must have felt during its final years—no matter how bizarre their scenarios, real life kept overtaking them.
On several occasions, the showrunners wrote episodes featuring policies so ludicrous and left-field they were purely for laughs, only for the government of the day to actually announce or implement similar plans. Reading today that Madden was banging his drum and that Mike McCurry was the latest “expert” wheeled out to comment on the weekend felt like satire being mugged by reality.
No parody I could write would be more ridiculous than the truth.
In the Maddhun piece, I jokingly described the “writer” as a “former whistler and Lodge Master of Ceremonies.” But how do you write satire when the media is quoting a guy today and pretending he’s neutral, who actually fits that description?
We’ve reached the point where satire can’t keep up. I knew this controversy would drag on, but we’ve now reached peak hilarity. It’s so absurd that debating it further is pointless. If you’re not already laughing, you must have a heart of stone.
If the SFA really has said, “Hey, we made a mistake here …” and thrown their hands up in the air with the mea culpa then I find all this ranting and raving even more hilarious. The only thing better than winning big is winning with controversy attached, something that trips them out and gets them hunting for the Unseen Hand all over again and based on the kind of people we’re seeing crawl out from under rocks that hunt is well underway.
We put up a podcast last night; it wasn’t supposed to be out until today, but we got it out early and we covered this subject and we all agreed that what makes it extraordinary is that nobody in the commentariat even wanted to discuss an alternate theory. They wanted the penalty.
They wanted it to be a penalty. They were never going to accept any other verdict at the end of this. And so, they sent in the clowns.
Let me repeat; if people want to finally have the debate we’ve been calling for all these years then great, let’s have it, and let’s get serious about reform. Otherwise, these people should calm down, because they are embarrassing themselves, and especially in giving a platform to someone like Mike McCurry.
Dragging people like him into this damages their credibility, what little of it some of these titles and individuals have left. When things have gone so far that even I can’t satirise it, you know it’s more hysterical than the usual pro-Ibrox deflection.
They might as well invite Hugh Dallas to chip in while they’re at it—it’d only be slightly less ridiculous than where we are right now.
You can watch the “neutral” McCurry leading his congregation in song here …
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119 and counting…end of….that is all that matters.
Johnny – don’t count your chickens… Apparently their new CEO has applied to buy the history of Third Lanark so they can add their two Scottish Cups and one league title to their 115+3. Well it’s been done before!
Were any of them perplexed by Kyogo’s goal being disallowed in the 3-0 game when the VAR showed he was onside?
Did anyone voice their concern?
They certainly are the people.
McCurry and his father were ministers for the glasgow evangelical Church. Which has close affiliations with the orange order. That’s a fact. Far as this latest ‘hard done by’ drama goes. Have spoken tae a few friends about this and ah think any rational minded person would agree, the reaction tae this has become embarrassingly hysterical. Strange thing is, imo this penalty debate never actually came tae most people’s notice, or gained any real legs until Sportscene did their analysis on Sunday evenin. It’s as if up until then, they never had much tae direct their frustration at and since Sportscene did their take on it, all hell’s broke loose They’ve found an outlet and a focus for their rage. It would be funny if it wisnae so embarrassin.
I think even before the ‘Trial by Sportscene’ kicked in on Sunday the real culprit for the mass hysteria has to be that failed in the lower leagues of England referee Boaby Madhun…
Until he started his shit stirring about this there was absolutely nothing – no player appealed, chased Beaton up about it and they (The Sevco Players) happily accepted the free kick without protest – That tells one all they need to know here in this absurd case…
It really should be easy for Collum to come out and explain that Beaton blew his whistle for the initial foul OUTSIDE the box and that’s the matter ended…
But will his nerve hold to take that course of action… ??
How Sevco can hold such power over all of the media from what I read on here and listen to with my own ears on Clyde Superscoreboard these last two nights is mind bending, there again it’s not really in not so Bonnie (Football) Scotland…
And with that Scummy ex Hoops wage thief Mark Wilson in their ranks – Well ‘nuff said really !
The last time there was this much noise about pro Celtic decision was a marginal offside/onside goal against Hearts
If only Walter as here…….!
I remember the Celtic being paranoid stage with proven detail of the ‘honest mistakes’….
I can see this debacle die for a couple of weeks until the teams next meet. I just hope then the Celts put it to bed on their own turf. They will always find something. Their manager cannot concentrate because of all the texts he is receiving, LMAO.
The more they can hold onto some lame excuse the longer the manager can play on that, the longer he will be around, Win-Win for the Celts.
Sounds like they are trying to punt Dessers but no club is going to pay anywhere near £4m for him in the January sales.
I was always under then impression that it was a penalty if a player was fouled inside the box, I never knew the rule about the line if I’m honest. I think I need clarification myself on this, so in a way I’m glad they are seeking clarification lol. I’ve watched it a few times , if it’s a penalty if the player is fouled on the line, then it’s definitely a penalty they have missed there, but if it’s inside the box, then it’s not a penalty, as it was on the line. I will wait to see what the sfa say about this, because I don’t know the rules, with regards to that.
The line is part of the box so any foul that occurs on the line is a penalty. In this case its irrelevant as Beaton clearly blew for the initial foul (not the shirt pull) outside the box thus any other potential offence thereafter is irrelevant than serious foul play. which will result in red card.
It’s no just about beaton now, it’s went way beyond that. They’re pickin out every ridiculous excuse on social media, from Kasper bein off his line (pure imagination) for his pen save. Tae one of the best imo. These clowns on a rangers network, givin their obvious ‘expert’ opinion on why it never went tae var, sayin ‘how can Frank Connor on var be impartial, when he used tae be a member of a Celtic Supporters club, so he’s OBVIOUSLY not goin tae award it’ ? Ffs talk about givin yer brain a chance for one second ! Completely ignorin the fact, there’s adequate proof that the fkn REFEREE of the game, has ibrox allegiances !! Ah honestly believe, the ability for rational thought is beyond these morons. Incredible how people can be so dumb.