A clear and obvious cultural problem

I was concerned about the trip to Paisley, but Never Stop FC just moved through the gears.

Alistair Johnston, who looks like he has been there for several seasons, typifies the spirit of this group of players.

This Celtic team looks unstoppable on the domestic front, and they find new ways to do Ange’s Plan A  better with every fresh challenge.

Never Stop.

For this journalist, that includes how they deal with the hostile cultural environment in which a club founded by Irish immigrants finds itself.

This, after the final whistle, made me chuckle.

If you’re interested in this type of subversive clothing, then you can find it here.

As for the match itself,  it was partly a tale of two penalties.

The first could have been crucial to the final result, and the second was meaningless.

The game was gone for the home side when Celtic’s newest recruit stepped up on 81 minutes to convert the spot kick he had won.

However, at the end of the season, a simple penalty count will grade both spot kicks as equally significant.

If Celtic’s penalty could not alter the result, then that could not be said when the Paisley side got theirs with just six minutes on the lock.

It allowed the Buddies to park the bus that bit further back.

Consequently, it was a highly significant decision.

It is hard to see what Greg Taylor could have done in that instant.

The referee yesterday was David Dickinson.

He was in the VAR room last November when a candidate for goal of the season was ruled offside.

The aftermath was an embarrassing shit show, even by the SFA’s standards.

As Alan Morrison of Celtic By Numbers noted to me at the time, it was a Dougie Dougie moment for the digital age.

On VAR at Paisley was Andrew Dallas, the young chap with an infamous father.

Here is Daddy Bear yesterday on Radio Scotland explaining away all manner of things apropos, officiating the apparently elastic handball law.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJ9wvwrPLDs&ab_channel=VitalCeltic

When questioned about the fact that referees never explain their decisions post-match, all he can come up with is “and it was always like that” (8.50).

Mr Dallas then makes reference to his time at the Scottish Football Association.

You will note that at no time was the reason for his departure from the SFA raised.

That was an open goal for those questioning him, but they refrained.

For the uninitiated, your humble correspondent can take some of the credit for that.

On that piece was the BBC’s Tom English.

Here he is on the Irish programme  Off The Ball.

Scroll to 16.18 when a question from Ger Gilroy puts Mr English into, as he styled it, “choppy waters”.

Ger mentioned the “S” word, which is almost certainly banned at the Beeb.

Yes, Ger, they’re Sevco, and they’re simply the second best.

7 thoughts on “A clear and obvious cultural problem”

  1. I was astounded and shocked that Dallas was invited on without question, thought or reason. Incredibly disappointed by Tom English not questioning this as he condemned DUP MP Gregory Campbell on Sportsound in 2020 whose excerpt was removed from the podcast.
    Wrote to BBC asking why Dallas was allowed, given his sectarian stance and was provided this response:

    Thank you for contacting us with your comments regarding contributor Hugh Dallas on Sportsound on 18 February 2023.

    Our contributors are appointed on the basis of their qualifications, knowledge and experience but judgements are subjective and we would never expect everyone to agree with every choice we make.

    While we acknowledge your concerns, he’s well placed to offer an informed viewpoint to a discussion on refereeing decisions in Scottish football.

    That said, we thank you for your feedback which we’ve shared with the programme team and senior management.

    Reply
  2. There was a very brief spell , I think it was in the early 2000’s, when referees WERE allowed to explain their decisions. When it very quickly became obvious that only one team in the league was benefiting from the “honest mistakes” the experiment was ditched.

    I thought that the purpose of VAR was to correct “clear and obvious” mistakes by the referee. In my humble opinion, if it takes five or six minutes for the VAR man to reach a decision, it CANNOT be a mistake that is either clear or obvious, and the referee’s original decision should stand.

    I also thought that the referee would have the final say in every VAR review of penalty/red card decisions. Twice that I can think of a penalty was awarded WITHOUT the referee being called to the monitor to review his decision. Basically he was overruled by someone in a TV studio.

    So far, I am far from impressed by the whole set up.

    Of the nineteen league goals we’ve conceded this season, SEVEN have been penalties.

    Of the twentyfour sevco have conceded NOT ONE has been a penalty.

    Of the eighty seven league goals we’ve scored THREE have been penalties, none of them having a bearing on the result. In other words, without the penalty Celtic still had a winning score in each game.

    Of the sixty four goals sevco have scored, EIGHT have been penalties. THREE of them giving them a point. One of them, denying us two points.

    Without those THREE penalties, we would be FOURTEEN POINTS clear with three more goals on to the GD.

    Reply
  3. VAR was supposed to be the answer to those close calls that our officials often got wrong.
    Given the incorrect calls still being made why don’t we scrap VAR and return to the days of ‘ honest mistakes.’
    It cannot be any worse than the current shambles

    Reply
    • Honest mistakes should be eradicated with the use of var. Var is not the problem we need rid of the dishonest people making the dishonest mistakes. End of.

      Reply
  4. Best ever T shirt was ‘ Team of lost souls’ one that Burtons had to pull because of the wailing of the recently departed

    Reply
    • I know that T shirt well Charlie D. I have a screen grab of it, personally I thought it was very bang on trend, and the bhoy who got through to be released for sale should drink for free at Celtic Park.

      Reply
      • I actually got a load of them printed off at the time for my mates.
        I still have 3 of the tee shirts in my wardrobe.
        One in green,one in white and the other in gold.

        Reply

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