Planet Fitba has a few things that are priced in.
Sadly, one of them is the Herrenvolk snarling of the Ibrox klanbase.
If things do not go to their satisfaction, then what Kevin Clancy and his family have been subjected to is their default setting.
This statement released today by the Scottish Football Association says a great deal between the lines:
The Scottish FA has referred a significant volume of threatening and abusive emails to Police Scotland after personal and professional contact details of Saturday’s Old Firm referee, Kevin Clancy, were published online following the derby match.
The association’s security and integrity manager has been liaising with Kevin and Police Scotland following a series of unacceptable messages being sent via email and phone over the holiday weekend.
We offer our full support to Kevin and reiterate our wider support to the referee community.
Ian Maxwell, Scottish FA Chief Executive: “The nature of the messages goes way beyond criticism of performance and perceived decision-making – some are potentially criminal in nature and include threats and abuse towards Kevin and his family.
“We have referred the correspondence to the police and condemn this behaviour in the strongest possible terms, as well as the posting of a referee’s personal details online with the sole purpose of causing distress.
“Football is our national game. It improves and saves lives. Without referees, there is no game, and while decisions will always be debated with or without the use of VAR, we cannot allow a situation to develop where a referee’s privacy and safety, and those of his family, are compromised.
“We all have a responsibility to protect our game and those essential to it.”
The Scottish FA can also confirm the Referee Operations team have responded to Rangers’ request for an explanation for an on-field decision involving Alfredo Morelos.
A buddy who works in the broadcast sector in Scotland sent me the foregoing and then followed it up with this question:
At what point do other clubs say enough is enough?
That is a very good question, indeed.
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What Scottish referee is going to relish officiating at the forthcoming semi at Hampden? If CFC had any balls they’d insist on a neutral European referee until the SFA sorted this mess out.
I wonder if UEFA actually do pay attention to the antics from Sevco & their kkklan? Not FFP, but the reputation globally which the Scottish game. Is looked at no doubt, in a negative way concerning Sevco.
The SFA have facilitated this for decades by turning a blind eye and for pandering to and peddling the same club nonsense.
“At what point do other clubs say enough is enough?”
Well, now that we have Lawwell back as “non-exec” Chairman:
CFC will never say enough is enough – and just look the other way.
…just as our club did in 2012 – and since. 🙁
Unpalatable as it is,
Lawwell and the Board CHOSE to make our club, [and by default, us supporters?],
complicit in enabling the Ibrox club to get away with ‘Anything Everything’.
I know Kevin Clancy, though not intimately. He might not be the world’s best referee (he has a day job after all), but his motivation is certainly to be fair and try and get things right. If the Sevco narrative had been that he made a mistake then fair enough. But the official media partners came out claiming he was a cheat. That’s the narrative that fuels this disgraceful behaviour. If you look at some of the fouls he gave to sevco you’d scratch your head. Morelos definitely pushed AJ. AJ definitely had arms on Morelos before that. When that ball was floated in it was either gong to be a free kick to Celtic, or a penalty. Morelos benefits hugely from his push- therefore that goal cannot be allowed to stand. Had Morelos failed to get to the ball because AJ pulled him, it would’ve been a penalty. They’re at it with each other as the ball comes in so you can’t really land either way with the decision. Once one of them benefits though, especially from a clear 2 handed push…it has to be a foul.
I very much doubt Clancy (or in fact any of our current referees) are actively cheating. Most are just not that great and lack the support to improve. VAR rush job hasn’t helped- promoting too many grade 3 to grade 1 just to get VAR staffing numbers up.
You have to ask who leaked the refs details too.
Not many would have all of his information but the SFA and his fellow refs would.
Makes you wonder….
The SFA correctly called the match ‘the derby’. I hope Sky Sports note this as their stenographers appear to be participating in an ‘Old Firm-athon’ by using this (incorrect) tag in their ‘reporting’ as often as possible.
They do what they want because they are never held accountable for it, not one person has mentioned the advertising status because they do what they want. Quite frankly, I am getting fed up with our club doing nothing about any off it.
When will the other clubs say enough is enough? Well, they had a pretty good opportunity to do so in 2012 and decided they wanted to recreate the status quo.
I’m possibly being a bit optimistic here, but NEXT season could be the one that breaks them.
As you’ve stated here on many occasions Phil, as long as someone keeps paying the bills they will stumble on. If my understanding of the new UEFA financial sustainability rules is correct, that can’t happen in future.
Last season they massively overachieved and reached a European final, this season they had CL group stage money, and they still needed to issue shares to make ends meet. That will not continue to be an option.
They will go into the CL qualification game with a new group of players, still gelling as a team with whatever is left of the old guard. There is a real chance they will go out at that stage. Okay, they will drop into the Europa League but that does not generate anything close to the same income.
The out of contract guys between them earn under £6m per year. NOT the £12-15m quoted by Tom English. If they didn’t replace any of them, a saving of that order would barely make a dent in their financial difficulties. But they need to replace at least some of them unless they have half a dozen young guys in their B team ready to make the step up together.
At what point do UEFA step in? A ban from European football world surely be their death knell.
There is also the possibility that some of the out of contract players will sign new deals. This is not as fanciful as it sounds. If any other club was interested in them, I think they would probably have made a move by now.
The Klan normally wreck George Square to make a point or do they only do this when they win?
PS: I’m pretty sure that I spotted a foul throw-in by a Celtic player which wasn’t picked up by the officials on Saturday. I hope that Rangers FC don’t forget to include this in their letter of complaint to the SFA.
The other clubs, and I include Celtic in this, bought into this in 2012.
By allowing the new club to pretend it was the one the crashed and burned so spectacularly.
By allowing them to believe they were the same club allowed them also to believe they were “relegated” which in turn made them fell hard done by and victimised.
The papers in general and media have gladly perpetuated this lie
As the years have rolled by the toxic nature of their fanbase has risen to higher and higher levels eventually exploding the weekend they won the league two years ago.
The Scottish Clubs, Football authorities, and society in general is to blame for this ongoing situation.
Bang on the money
The real story here is that any other referee will be disinclined to make decisions against Sevco.
In any decent world they’d be shut down.
Unfortunately the answer to your question is “NEVER!” (Us aontroim folk have often heard it just before some shady deal is done in the background) the sfa will just gerrymander their way through it until the next opportunity to award a penalty at ibrox
What about the 2 incidents that should have resulted in red cards for Sevco players?
At what point will The Rangers FC board PUBLICLY CONDEMN THEIR OWN FANS for this abhorrent behaviour? And let’s not forget the The Rangers supporting MSM lackeys who gleefully whip up this detestable behaviour. Shame on them. Shame on the SFA also for pandering to The Rangers and their delinquent support.