Ange Postecoglou is rarely a man to question the decision making of referees. When it comes to missed penalties or questionable offsides the Celtic manager rarely criticises, however one thing he has made clear is referees have a responsibility to ensure footballers are protected, and in Saturday’s referee Celtic had an official in Don Robertson with more than a little previous when it came to failing to protect our players.
And despite sending of Ross County’s Kayne Ramsay for a foul on Tom Rogic that ultimately led to Rogic leaving the field injured moments later, it was not a case of Robertson protecting Celtic players on this occasion. Instead, it was his failure to book the same player moments earlier that led to Ramsay believing his robust approach to tackling Celtic players had been accepted by the referee.
Tom Boyd spot on to criticise Don Robertson for not booking Ramsay for his first ridiculous challenge as it’ll allow him another assault. Lo & behold this happens 5 minutes later and we lose a player to injury pic.twitter.com/cmdcpEGmD3
— AM 🏴 (@annemarie6377) March 19, 2022
Had Robertson cautioned Ramsay for the earlier tackle, then Rogic would have been properly protected by the referee, as the player Ramsay would have been on a yellow card, aware of the parameters he was working within, and far less likely to commit the second foul that ultimately did lead to the red card – and to Celtic losing yet another player to injury under the apparent protection of Don Robertson.
Don Robertson goes from extreme to another, doesn’t give stonewall red cards to giving red cards that are never a red card. Taken over from Dallas as the poorest Scottish FA Fifa official
— deaksey (@deaks1ey) March 19, 2022
Mind you what chance do we have of any real protection for players when the attitudes exhibited by former referees are years out of date.
Speaking on the Get Involved Referee Podcast Ex-official Des Roache made some somewhat outdated comments regarding Don Robertson’s decision to send Kayne Ramsey packing.
“It wasn’t a foul. He has won the ball. You cannot tell a player how hard he can challenge for a ball. Don’t get me wrong, he’s taken everything but for me he has won the ball and remained in control of his challenge. I don’t think that’s a red card.
“Injuries are part of a contact sport. Are we going to take it back to playground rules where you can’t hurt your mate? I don’t think Ramsay has gone to hurt anyone. He has gone to win the ball fairly within the laws of the game.”
The days of winning the ball meaning players have carte blanche to attack with ferocity are long gone. You can certainly argue whether Kayne’s challenge in isolation merited a yellow or red card, but to state the challenge is not even a foul is ridiculously out of date, with the laws of the game stating Serious foul play, as:
‘A tackle or challenge that endangers the safety of an opponent or uses excessive force or brutality must be sanctioned as serious foul play. Any player who lunges at an opponent in challenging for the ball from the front, from the side or from behind using one or both legs, with excessive force or endangers the safety of an opponent is guilty of serious foul play.’
As such Kayne Ramsay’s foul was at minimum a booking, even if the threshold for a red card – much like Reo Hatate’s challenge last week against Dundee United where the referee correctly cautioned the Celtic midfielder rather than send him off – was not reached:
‘Violent conduct is when a player uses or attempts to use excessive force or brutality against an opponent when not challenging for the ball, or against a team-mate, team official, match official, spectator or any other person, regardless of whether contact is made.’
Yet Des Roache had a Former Grade 1 whistler Steve Conroy who came out in agreement of his podcast pal -:
“I agree and I’m going to reference a famous tackle from a few seasons ago when Jozo Simunovic cleaned out Kenny Miller – probably even more so than Rogic. That was an absolutely fantastic tackle. You can tackle with as much gusto as you like so long as you get the ball. I don’t even see it as a foul, far less a red card.”
The Jozo Simunovic tackle may not have been a foul a few years ago but it certainly would be one under the current interpretations, where Jozo – in most professional leagues – would now receive a caution rather than a sending off, but it would certainly be a foul whether the ball was won or not – or at least it should be.
One thing the two former refs did agree on was Don Robertson’s missing a clear penalty in the first half when Joseph Hungbo blocked Jota’s cross with his left arm but a spot-kick was not awarded.
Celtic shout for a penalty.
Ref says no. pic.twitter.com/3YwJ0wu7AD— Lint (@Zeshankenzo) March 19, 2022
“It was a clear penalty. There was no dubiety. The only thing I can say in Don’s defence is that it looks like there were a couple of players crossing his line of sight. But I’m not sure about that. It was certainly a definite penalty and I think he missed that one. It would have been an easy VAR decision.”
They are at least correct to agree on that decision and it shows on some matters the former referees are up to speed with the changes. Although whether VAR would have any influence over decision making in Scottish football remains to be seen, especially if those poring of the footage of tackles are as out of date as the officials on the ‘Get Involved Referee Podcast’.
Don Robertson missing the most obvious handball in the history of professional football, staring right at from less than 10 yards away. He would’ve given it at Ibrox…
— Neil Murray (@NMFitba) March 19, 2022
After all video evidence is only as good as those viewing the footage.
Niall J
