Celtic FC - Always cheated, never defeated.

[Frankie 505]

It's already been a few days since Rangers' splendid away win against Celtic at Parkhead. Most commentators have admitted we were the better team and most Rangers fans could have predicted our superior strength against a Celtic squad which lacks leadership in the way our team has from Walter Smith and David Weir. Unfortunately, once again much of the talk has been about the performance of the referee. And in many ways, this is a fair debate but, once again, this debate lacks balance and Celtic FC and their manager are attempting to use it to deflect from their own failings.

Only a week after their last letter to the SFA for an explanation regarding an over-turned penalty ruling, Neil Lennon has admitted they have once again contacted Hampden over Willie Collum's decision to award Rangers a penalty on Sunday. For those that haven't seen this incident, it was certainly a debatable one but the following double-picture from Willie Vass captures it perfectly.

Note, first and foremost, how Collum had the ideal view despite the myth that his back was turned. Furthermore, note that not only did the knee of the Celtic defender hinder Broadfoot's attempt to move past the player but he had both hands on the chest of the Rangers full back to also impede his progress. To conclude, two points of contact and arguably enough of an obstruction to make a foul the obvious choice for the referee.

Was it soft? Yes, I'll be honest and say it was and I also agree Broadfoot made the most of the contact discussed. If Celtic had benefited from such a decision I'd be similarly frustrated. However, if we're being balanced, then we must remember that last week Celtic expected a penalty for a similar incident where Gary Kenneth barely touched their forward. In addition, the incident immediately after this where Dougie McDonald initially gave a penalty, Celtic wanted the decision upheld despite the goalkeeper actually getting a touch on the ball. Indeed, their manager was so incensed at this, he verbally and physically abused the officials as they rightly rescinded their decision. Yet, the same person wants an explanation for an incident where his defender didn't touch the ball and did make contact with an opposition forward.

Now, Celtic are entitled to their opinion and why shouldn't they raise it with the SFA. After all, Collum did have a poor game but one doubts whether or not Celtic's enquiry will have the balance within it for the beaks to take it seriously. For example does it mention Anthony Stokes' assault on Sasa Papac within the first 2 mins which was only punished by a yellow card? Does it mention a Rangers player being booked immediately afterwards for a tackle which won the ball strongly but fairly? Does it mention a Celtic player not being booked for a horror challenge on the ankle of Bougherra? Does it mention the same player being absolved of blame for 'kneeing' the Rangers goalkeeper on the head while he was prone on the ground? Does it mention several of their players' inclination to push the opposition when upset with refereeing decisions? Does it mention a player who has already managed to avoid a red card only being cautioned for a late assault from behind on Scotland's best player this season? These examples of Celtic benefiting from officiating errors are only in Sunday's match - need we examine historic similar contests?

After all, Celtic want transparency within the Scottish game, so perhaps they'll be keen to make their contents of their various letters public to we can all accurately judge their intent over their cynicism?

And this is the crux of the debate; what exactly are their motives here? Last season (and historically) their fans, players, manager and club administration have made it completely clear they feel elements of Scottish football (be it officials, the SFA, the SPL and even other teams) are conspiring against them. Indeed, during many supporter 'road-shows' of which Lennon and other club figures attended, they were keen to drum up support for these conspiracy theories. Apparently, they are worried over the number of 'honest mistakes' made against Celtic. Of course, honesty (or the implied lack of same) doesn't even come into it.

Let's be clear here: Celtic FC are attempting to suggest officials (and others apparently) cheat in favour of Rangers in Scotland. That is patently untrue and I feel sorry for any Celtic fan buying this red herring from a club management which will do anything to deflect blame from themselves as they lurch from one failure to the next. Indeed, one should find these unsubstantiated theories funny but their claims are now going beyond mirth given the complications facing those being charged by the Celtic kangaroo court.

Unfortunately, when the safety of officials is again a concern then Celtic should be reconsidering their approach. Every club in football has their fair share of decisions go for and against them. This is part and parcel of the game and in an era where super slo-mo replays from countless angles can often throw up more questions than answers then the referee has it even more difficult than before. In this case patience is a virtue and I'm glad Walter Smith is one of the few managers who agrees that referees deserve our backing; not our accusations.

Therefore, for anyone to embark on a very public crusade of questioning officials' integrity to the scale of threatening their well-being is not only disingenuous but dangerous. Instead of making a point privately they could be arguably entitled to make, instead they only detract from it and cause more problems that actually existed in the first place.

Considering Neil Lennon has suffered from violence and depression himself for doing no more than his job, perhaps he should reconsider his approach to ensure Scottish referees do not suffer from the same miseries for doing their best in an tense atmosphere Celtic have historically contributed more than anyone to creating.

Football is an imperfect sport and we all feel hard done by from time to time. For anyone - least of all one of Scotland's biggest clubs - to suggest this goes beyond bad luck to deliberate and concious judgements against them isn't just unacceptable but provides a clear and present danger to the credibility of the game in this country.

Celtic FC should be ashamed of themselves and anyone who panders to this ongoing 'always cheated, never defeated' mantra are equally guilty of bringing our proud national sport into disrepute.

[Gid 46]

Spot on as always Frankie.

[RFC55 104,117]

Excellent article mate, i done a thread in the general sports about their letter writing. Fucking weird bunch mate.

Very well put Frankie as ever

[ChrisNZ 0]

A Great read.

[MisterC 11,805]

Fantastic read Frankie found myself nodding with agreement all the way through. Their idea of fairness of for them to get everything their way and to have the maximum advantage while everyone else is disadvantaged as much as possible. Sporting integrity my arse!

[djbroxybear 658]

It's already been a few days since Rangers' splendid away win against Celtic at Parkhead. Most commentators have admitted we were the better team and most Rangers fans could have predicted our superior strength against a Celtic squad which lacks leadership in the way our team has from Walter Smith and David Weir. Unfortunately, once again much of the talk has been about the performance of the referee. And in many ways, this is a fair debate but, once again, this debate lacks balance and Celtic FC and their manager are attempting to use it to deflect from their own failings.

Only a week after their last letter to the SFA for an explanation regarding an over-turned penalty ruling, Neil Lennon has admitted they have once again contacted Hampden over Willie Collum's decision to award Rangers a penalty on Sunday. For those that haven't seen this incident, it was certainly a debatable one but the following double-picture from Willie Vass captures it perfectly.

Note, first and foremost, how Collum had the ideal view despite the myth that his back was turned. Furthermore, note that not only did the knee of the Celtic defender hinder Broadfoot's attempt to move past the player but he had both hands on the chest of the Rangers full back to also impede his progress. To conclude, two points of contact and arguably enough of an obstruction to make a foul the obvious choice for the referee.

Was it soft? Yes, I'll be honest and say it was and I also agree Broadfoot made the most of the contact discussed. If Celtic had benefited from such a decision I'd be similarly frustrated. However, if we're being balanced, then we must remember that last week Celtic expected a penalty for a similar incident where Gary Kenneth barely touched their forward. In addition, the incident immediately after this where Dougie McDonald initially gave a penalty, Celtic wanted the decision upheld despite the goalkeeper actually getting a touch on the ball. Indeed, their manager was so incensed at this, he verbally and physically abused the officials as they rightly rescinded their decision. Yet, the same person wants an explanation for an incident where his defender didn't touch the ball and did make contact with an opposition forward.

Now, Celtic are entitled to their opinion and why shouldn't they raise it with the SFA. After all, Collum did have a poor game but one doubts whether or not Celtic's enquiry will have the balance within it for the beaks to take it seriously. For example does it mention Anthony Stokes' assault on Sasa Papac within the first 2 mins which was only punished by a yellow card? Does it mention a Rangers player being booked immediately afterwards for a tackle which won the ball strongly but fairly? Does it mention a Celtic player not being booked for a horror challenge on the ankle of Bougherra? Does it mention the same player being absolved of blame for 'kneeing' the Rangers goalkeeper on the head while he was prone on the ground? Does it mention several of their players' inclination to push the opposition when upset with refereeing decisions? Does it mention a player who has already managed to avoid a red card only being cautioned for a late assault from behind on Scotland's best player this season? These examples of Celtic benefiting from officiating errors are only in Sunday's match - need we examine historic similar contests?

After all, Celtic want transparency within the Scottish game, so perhaps they'll be keen to make their contents of their various letters public to we can all accurately judge their intent over their cynicism?

And this is the crux of the debate; what exactly are their motives here? Last season (and historically) their fans, players, manager and club administration have made it completely clear they feel elements of Scottish football (be it officials, the SFA, the SPL and even other teams) are conspiring against them. Indeed, during many supporter 'road-shows' of which Lennon and other club figures attended, they were keen to drum up support for these conspiracy theories. Apparently, they are worried over the number of 'honest mistakes' made against Celtic. Of course, honesty (or the implied lack of same) doesn't even come into it.

Let's be clear here: Celtic FC are attempting to suggest officials (and others apparently) cheat in favour of Rangers in Scotland. That is patently untrue and I feel sorry for any Celtic fan buying this red herring from a club management which will do anything to deflect blame from themselves as they lurch from one failure to the next. Indeed, one should find these unsubstantiated theories funny but their claims are now going beyond mirth given the complications facing those being charged by the Celtic kangaroo court.

Unfortunately, when the safety of officials is again a concern then Celtic should be reconsidering their approach. Every club in football has their fair share of decisions go for and against them. This is part and parcel of the game and in an era where super slo-mo replays from countless angles can often throw up more questions than answers then the referee has it even more difficult than before. In this case patience is a virtue and I'm glad Walter Smith is one of the few managers who agrees that referees deserve our backing; not our accusations.

Therefore, for anyone to embark on a very public crusade of questioning officials' integrity to the scale of threatening their well-being is not only disingenuous but dangerous. Instead of making a point privately they could be arguably entitled to make, instead they only detract from it and cause more problems that actually existed in the first place.

Considering Neil Lennon has suffered from violence and depression himself for doing no more than his job, perhaps he should reconsider his approach to ensure Scottish referees do not suffer from the same miseries for doing their best in an tense atmosphere Celtic have historically contributed more than anyone to creating.

Football is an imperfect sport and we all feel hard done by from time to time. For anyone - least of all one of Scotland's biggest clubs - to suggest this goes beyond bad luck to deliberate and concious judgements against them isn't just unacceptable but provides a clear and present danger to the credibility of the game in this country.

Celtic FC should be ashamed of themselves and anyone who panders to this ongoing 'always cheated, never defeated' mantra are equally guilty of bringing our proud national sport into disrepute.

Great Post totally agree...

There SCUM..

[Poetry_In_Blue 1,043]

Great read Frankie, you should forward that in an e-mail to the SFA.

[GeneralCartmanLee 313]

their fans are talking about boycotting the away game in aberdeen to protest (no i can't work that one out either)....

Their is a rumour going around that dougien mcdonald is going to lose his grade 1 status today in what i presume is the new chief executive of the SFA showing there is no bias. Now Mcdonald did make a mistake and it was giving a penalty . It was in the rules for him to change his mind after advice he did and you would have thought the SFA would be happy one iof there refs has the mental strength to admit he was wrong in front of 15000 people. Surely the SFA should have been more concerned with lebnnions reaction to the 4th official or ref or even the fact a number fo there fans had to be arrested and mutiple objects picked up off the park to restore order.

I mentioned these roadshows as well yesterday frankie with Lawell making promises that they would ban rangers fans and other ridiculous such claims, are they that naive that they didn't think every word uttered at these roadshows would appear on the internet ? As you say they are using every trick in the book to cover up the fact that from a position of great strength (imo under le guen the financial advantage and on then park advantage was as big as anything during 9 in a row) they have lost 2 leagues and been totally eclipsed on and off the park by a skint rangers. The fact they are now exploiting the nutters in there support and feeding there paranoia is a disgrace

[TheHammer 10]

Fantastic read.

[minstral 5,375]

Great post Frankie and its only when they are not winning things that they play the poor victims card.

[DarcheVinny 1,003]

[Ozblue 4,331]

Frankie! Their club and supporters are not paranoid at all (according to Messrs Lawwell, Reid and Lennon) so it must mean they imagine things that nobody else in the country can see.

No matter how much evidence to the contrary is put in front of them and no matter how many picture, video replays or referee explanations are given to them, they will never change because they have this inbred inferiority complex about being the club built on starvation and persecution ever since the day Brother Walfrid told them the Protestant soup kitchens were only there to make them appear like beggars who had no dignity (Well! He certainly got that last bit correct)

The only way that this will be stopped is if the SFA miraculously gets serious about all this intimidating blackmail, because that's what it is, and either docks them points or bans them completely from Scottish football. Now we know that's never going to happen because if you take either Rangers or the other lot out of Scottish football; basically it's doomsday for football as we know it in Scotland.

Whether threatening them with a penalty of European bans if they don't stop this shite would work or not, I'm not sure, but something must be done about the current office bearers of that club, before we don't have any officials left in Scotland to officiate in games.

Some would say that they themselves ban their supporters from watching European football by getting knocked out before the competion starts proper, but that would be a cheap shot at the GFITW and their dignified leaders of the club that doesn't fly the Nations flag from their highest flagpole.

Great post as usual Frankie.

[MisterC 11,805]

Great post Frankie and its only when they are not winning things that they play the poor victims card.

Thats it in a nutshell Minst, they are the worst winners and the worst losers, they gloat like fuck and poke fun at others when they win but when they lose everyone is against them. Time they fuckers grew up.

[G.Linton 107]

Class Read well done OP thought it was very interesting an 100% spot on!

[jcb 1,167]

Has it ever been any other way Frankie?

[MosesMcNeil 1,664]

Let's be clear here: Celtic FC are attempting to suggest officials (and others apparently) cheat in favour of Rangers in Scotland. That is patently untrue and I feel sorry for any Celtic fan buying this red herring from a club management which will do anything to deflect blame from themselves as they lurch from one failure to the next. Indeed, one should find these unsubstantiated theories funny but their claims are now going beyond mirth given the complications facing those being charged by the Celtic kangaroo court.

It is funny. Bloody hilarious in fact!

But don't be kidded that rasellik support need any kind of guidance from the club here - they are paranoid enough to invest time and energy into creating supportive arguments for this mince. It's an easy out for the club to play along with the conspiracy - although I'd be happier still to learn their leadership believed all this nonsense, too.

The selective reasoning is also deeply entertaining. Lennon, for example, is spitting blood about the penalty and McCulloch, but will not acknowledge the issues for Stokes or Samaras. It's absolutely in our favour that they focus on created injustice and not the real reasons for their failures.

Long may it continue.

[Gid 46]

Their is a rumour going around that dougien mcdonald is going to lose his grade 1 status today in what i presume is the new chief executive of the SFA showing there is no bias. Now Mcdonald did make a mistake and it was giving a penalty . It was in the rules for him to change his mind after advice he did and you would have thought the SFA would be happy one iof there refs has the mental strength to admit he was wrong in front of 15000 people. Surely the SFA should have been more concerned with lebnnions reaction to the 4th official or ref or even the fact a number fo there fans had to be arrested and mutiple objects picked up off the park to restore order.

Didn't the SFA come out in praise of McDonald for his handling of the incident at Tannadice?

Edit: It was Hugh Dallas. The SFA's head of referee development.

[GeneralCartmanLee 313]

hugh dallas did but apparently his bosses don't agree.

Jiust a rumour though not 100% sure it's true

[Gid 46]

hugh dallas did but apparently his bosses don't agree.

Jiust a rumour though not 100% sure it's true

Well if they do downgrade McDonald as a result of said incident, surely that then shows a lack of confidence in Dallas and his judgement?

If I was Dallas I would tell them to shove their job.

[blueben_d 40]

I seriously doubt that the SFA would hang McDonald out to dry on this.

The refs and Hugh Dallas would quit/strike instantly.

Great post as always Frankie, it deserves publication in a national newspaper if you ask me.

[MosesMcNeil 1,664]

Every club in football has their fair share of decisions go for and against them. This is part and parcel of the game and in an era where super slo-mo replays from countless angles can often throw up more questions than answers then the referee has it even more difficult than before.

This is the real problem in a nutshell. All of the story, right there. We refuse to employ technology already available. Sky, for example, are quicker to reveal what happened via replay during key moments in a game than the referee is after the melees, pushing, shouting and all of that nonsense takes place. And with that realisation, bang goes the theory that replays and will result in endless stop/start ruining the match. With player protests at key moments it's already happening. Technology, deftly applied, has not ruined Cricket, Tennis, NFL or many other sports. But we are asked to accept it would ruin fitba?

Nonsense!

And, if the powers that be really wanted to protect referees, then we don't even need to re-invent the wheel to find a perfect solution. Simply copy Rugby and their sin-bin rule.

Arguments that this is only a game don't help anything either - fitba clubs are multi-million pound business concerns in this day and age. When referees (inevitably) make mistakes then it can have a powerful effect on a club's whole well-being for years to come. Not good enough really, is it?

So, we have the technology, we have a model from Rugby to protect referees and still we do not engage with them for the benefit of the game.

Really, why is that?

[bombaybadboy08 15,660]

Great article and you raise an interesting point about how Lhennon of all people should know what it feels like to have his safety threatened for doing his job.

As i said in another thread the longer they keep blaming everyone but themselves the further we will pull away from them which is fantastic.

Just a shame the officials safety is being compromised due to these animals.

[alstone 374]

Cracking post - rangers totally bullied them off the park on saturday and their team clearly lacked leadership and experience and over the 90 minutes they were going to get found out sooner or later. after 3-1 they came absolutely no where near scoring and looked like lost boys out there.

They will be found out more and more this season and will slip up points where we wont and still blame the refs and blame other teams for conspiring against them rather than just admitting their team isnt that good and are no match for their city rivals! Im taking great pleasure in how much they are embarassing themselves

[Kingbo 0]

Great read, and summed everything up perfectly.

Celtic must have missed all the similarly soft fouls they gained when players like Ki and company went down when there just happened to be a player near them (an impartial friend of mine also brought this point up to a Celtic supporting friend, but he chose to ignore it). I actually feel sorry for all the decent Celtic fans who have to put up with this nonsense from their fans, manager, players and board members, it must be terribly embarrassing.

[BLUE CYCLOPS 26]

The incident v. DU was adjudged to be the correct decision by Hugh Dallas but what is less publicised is

the fact that Dermot Gallagher (retired EPL referee) also cleared it as the correct decision on SSN on

Monday morning. So we have two experiemced international referees both judging that changing the disputed

penalty to be the correct decision.

It appears that we can add Dermot Gallagher and Sky Sports to the list of sectarian organisations who are

biased against Celtic.

Seriously though, my fear is that this Celtic "victimhood" is a sympton of a serious illness.

Not just in the football sense but it is shown up in Northern Ireland almost on a dailly basis.

They have no interest in anything except their own fantasies. Over the years certain politicians and media

reporters have tended to grant them their bigotries for a quiet life thinking that would keep them happy.

Too late we are finding that has simply encouraged them to push even more for more concessions, more

decisions, more restrictions on everyone else. The bandwagon is out of control and with people like Lennon

and Reid at the helm there is no sign of it coming under control anytime soon.

I honestly fear for the future of Scottish football. It is laready somewhat of a joke in World terms and

indulging Celtics fantasies is only going to make it worse.