Being honest I had been impressed by Bobby Madden the last few times I had seen him particularly in the Scottish Cup semi-final at Hampden. Without wishing to damn him with faint praise I have to say that I have been watching on television which is totally different to being at the match but I have been impressed.
Sadly Tynecastle on 6 May was a different matter. Before I go any further let me repeat my old refereeing coach’s maxim. “No one sees what the referee sees.”
Bearing in mind the recent history particularly this season between Celtic and Hearts I think that the match referee should have been ready for the over-physical manner in which Hearts started the game. Subject to not having to brandish a card immediately a few short, sharp, angry blasts on the whistle can indicate so much and advise the players that the official is having no nonsense. A couple of words in the appropriate ear(s) then confirms that stance. Those were missing putting him under pressure of his own making.
Let’s not forget that the referee sees an incident once. Television viewers have the benefit of replays and shots from different angles and I have seen all of those. I have a recording of the match which, intentionally, I have not watched. I am trying to base my thoughts on my first sighting of each incident and nothing else.
Early tackles by Hearts players were meaty to say the least. I could not make up my mind if Lafferty had been cautioned for the challenge or for dissent. That challenge certainly merited a yellow card. The disallowing of Hearts “early goal” was the type of scenario where a referee could easily lose control of a match. To me it was the classic error of an inexperienced referee rather than someone of Madden’s supposed standing.
How he managed to award a corner kick to Hearts when there had been two clear fouls by Lafferty both in the sight of the official is a concern. An experienced referee having realised that he had made a mistake could have changed his decision a la la Dougie Dougie but as we know that is fraught with difficulties especially if there is no assistant near who could have intervened and in any event when have we ever seen such an occurrence?
The man is damned either way. Please forgive me because what I am about to write is indefensible. Once the corner is taken the decision to award it is final but how many times have we seen the award of a free kick to right the wrong? In those circumstances the trick is to do so quickly. Not when the situation has developed and a goal has resulted and on this occasion a legitimate counter.
Over the years I have noticed how Celtic’s discipline is first class and have been proud of that. This time Hearts impressed me with the way that they behaved in accepting the decision. (They impressed me in little else and I do not miss the mark with my criticism below.) In the space of about a minute quite easily Madden could have had two sets of very angry players on his hands. He was very fortunate to escape that situation. I stress that bearing in mind what he had already let go and what was to follow. The treatment meted out to Scott Brown was scandalous. A foul before Hearts’ goal, the assault by Naismith on the touchline and the roars of appreciation and triumph by their fans (about which, of course the referee can do nothing) at such an appalling tackle to name but three should make Heart of Midlothian FC as a whole utterly ashamed. Not a chance! They are a disgrace.
Back to Madden: a decent referee would have stamped all over Naismith for that challenge and for his crunching of James Forrest’s ankle. So many fouls and no action taken! Both Lafferty and Naismith should have been off before half time. Mercifully Hearts appeared to run out of steam in the second half but the way we started that period probably made them realise that the game was up.
I think that Madden’s performance would strengthen any argument for officials having to explain their decisions. He damaged his own reputation and so he should be concerned about that.
DidsburyCelt ( who is a former referee)
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