VAR birth, Cheating in it's first week.

[Joe O'Rourke]

Where do we start with Scottish Football, and the way it’s managed at all levels? Compared to other European Nations, our Professional Football Organisations are amateur at best, and a bastion of “Sectarian Cheat’s” at worst, I’m inclined to go with the latter. If proof were needed by those not connected to Celtic FC, then Saturday afternoon at Tynecastle should have provided such proof.

I’ve got to confess first off that I’m not sure just exactly how VAR works in Scotland, and I mean the basics. For instance, who has the ultimate say? Is it the official in the VAR Room? Or is it the match official? There were at least three contentious decisions involving Celtic. The Tony Ralston disallowed goal, the handball incident in the Hearts penalty box, and the Liel Abada offside goal call. So was it Nick Walsh who made the calls? Or was it anti-Celtic official Steven McLean? McLean who was booed off the pitch at Celtic Park last week, even after Celtic battered Hibs 6-1?

It’s obvious there is a conspiracy against Celtic amongst the officials in Scotland, it’s happening far too often to be anything else, the dark arts are at work. Celtic’s game plan is based on speed and movement, so everything is done to slow us down, at Motherwell last Wednesday night they had no ball boys, how amateur can you get, but another way of slowing Celtic down. In most matches the officials are stopping the match for petty offences, but letting the culprits away without punishment.

Let’s ask ourselves why it’s happening? I’m pretty sure Nick Walsh, Don Robertson, Willie Collum, and Kevin Clancy didn’t go to school every day with a Rangers scarf around their necks. And I don’t think you should get to grade one refereeing without being competent. So the only logical explanation is “Career Advancement” and we also know that other famous anti-Celtic hater Hugh Dallas still has his finger on that particular pulse, you aint getting officiating in European Football without the backing of Dallas, and you aint getting the big games in Scotland without Crawford Allan.

All we can do is keep winning despite them, Tynecastle was the perfect example of Ange’s Motto, “We never Stop” that was one of my favourite ever away matches following Celtic, the travelling support were fantastic, and the backing they gave the team was phenomenal. On to tomorrow night now, let’s get the victory against Shkhtar, then Livingston on Sunday, and we can be very pleased with ourselves.
We never Stop. Glasgow’s Green & White.