After calling on Lucifer himself to intervene – given the desperation emanating from Ibrox at the thought of having to play the part of the support act (yes that again!) for a title party at Celtic Park this weekend – Beelzebub offered theRangers fans a simple choice in exchange for yet another section of their soul – ‘I can call in a favour for a miracle and have Alfredo Morelos fit to play on Sunday, or I can get John Beaton as your match referee – what’s it to be?’
Well, we all know the answer by now. The match official Celtic fans call Cheatin’ Beaton has been handed the whistle for the Glasgow Derby, and it’s an understandable request to make of Old Nick all things considered. After all John Beaton has had a direct impact on the outcome of Glasgow Derbies, meanwhile Alfie is still waiting to provoke that same sense of fear in the Celtic support.
Of course, this was always going to be a tough choice for the SFA. On the one hand Willie Collum was perceived by all parties to have refereed the last league encounter within the laws of the game – presumably that alone immediately excluding him from further consideration – meanwhile Bobby Madden had probably already asked for Sunday off as both he and Andy Halliday had been successful in the ballot.
And given Madden had more than handled his pre-match remit in the Cup semi-final, the powers that be felt they should be ‘loyal’ to their agreement to allow Madden and Halliday to go for a pre-match sunbed together before joining their pals in the away corner of the Lisbon Lions stand for an up to your knees up sing song ahead of Celtic scoring.
Of course, Beaton’s appointment will be met with controversy given his past assistance to those in royal blue, although short term pain of adverse headlines on Celtic fans media is worth the long-term gain if Brother Beaton can work his magic, and as he’s evidenced on prior occasions, he’s more than capable of managing just that.
In December 2018 Beaton was involved in a series of controversies on the park, and an even bigger one off it. So much so Celtic took their concerns about Beaton’s performance to the Scottish FA.
Only in Scotland would a decision to award this game to a referee with questionable decision making around Celtic or the opponents of theRangers be met with the wronged party being advised to keep their paranoia in check – and that is exactly the message anyone who dares to question this appointment will receive.
Even prior to that infamous encounter Beaton had already shown himself as an able operative when it came to helping out the Ibrox club. when, even the mighty Albion Rovers felt the impact of the helping hand of the 12th man.
In the Scottish Cup theRangers emerged from a tricky home cup tie with another bite at the cherry. Having fallen behind to a Ciaran Donnelly goal for Albion Rovers in the 14th minute, the natives were getting restless, until Beaton turned a blind eye to ‘the’ Rangers Bilel Moshni barging the goalkeeper into the net alongside the ball and awarding the controversial equaliser.
Speaking to Daily Record, goalkeeper Neil Parry said: “I thought it was a foul on me because Mohsni lead with his arm. It would have been interesting to see what would have happened if the incident had happened at the other end of the pitch.
“I’m disappointed by the referee’s decision but I won’t allow it to detract from what we achieved against (the)Rangers. We’re delighted with our draw and it’s anything but a hard-luck story.”
Long before Kieran Tierney’s Lennoxtown quip became famous, the former Celtic full back was asking ‘S’happenin’ Beaton’ at Tynecastle on 7 August 2016. Much like Albion Rover’s Parry there was a feeling of incredulity surrounding the decision.
This time it was in Brendan Rodgers first league game against Hearts at Tynecastle. With Hearts trailing to an 8th minute James Forrest goal, a man with an already finely developed reputation for timely imbalance fell to the floor inside the Celtic penalty area. As Jamie Walker collapsed in the box under no contact at all and John Beaton couldn’t wait to point at the spot. Hearts equalised as Walker recovered from the assault to score the resultant penalty, though thankfully Scotty Sinclair came to the rescue from the subs bench and rescued all three points for the Celts.
Apparently, Beaton held his hands up to the ‘mistake’ as Brendan Rodgers pointed out post-match in a somewhat diplomatic response, all things considered.
Ex-Hoops boss Rodgers said: “I don’t want to kill the referee. He knows fine well he made a mistake and he admitted it on the pitch. Thankfully it didn’t cost us.”
You can judge the integrity of the award for yourselves here:
Then came the reward for such professional refereeing performances. December 2018 at Ibrox and Beaton officiates over Celtic’s 1-0 defeat at Ibrox. It was a case of job done for Beaton and my word did he rise to the occasion.
Beaton’s Glasgow Derby, as Celtic fell to a 1-0 reverse, beggared belief. Yet he outdid himself post-match. The issues on the field of play centred on Alfredo Morelos. When do they not?
Morelos clearly kicked at Scott Brown, used Anthony Ralston’s back as a surfboard, and seemed to grab at Ryan Christie’s groin – in the usual production of Ibrox savagery. Somehow the referee missed the incidents. Or did he?
Alfredo Morelos was cited by the SFA for those three incidents in the Ibrox match. However, because referee Beaton confirmed he did see all three incidents; no retrospective action could take place. Turned out he wasn’t unsighted. In fact, he turned a blind eye, before presumably getting blind drunk in Bellshill.
Yes, just as you thought the story couldn’t get any worse, John Beaton decided to go on the drink and with it very much take the Colin Nish, all in one ill-advised visit to a Bellshill watering hole straight after the game. A well-known, if not a rather infamous bluenose pub, the Crown Bar. It wasn’t long until his grinning face was posted in photographs all over the internet posing alongside the staunch regulars.
Celtic themselves felt the need to question the whole sorry mess and released an official statement on the matter.
“It is reported that no action was taken because the match referee saw all of the incidents in question.
“Given that the referee took no action at the time, this tends to suggest that such conduct, which in one instance led to a Celtic player, Anthony Ralston, being injured, is acceptable in Scottish football. That cannot be right.
“On the day, Celtic did not play well enough to win the match, something we accept. However, this issue goes beyond the result of the match.”
And despite of a catalogue of refereeing imbalances when it comes to officiating games involving theRangers and Celtic, John Beaton is the man who will be charged with handling the final Glasgow Derby of the season this weekend – one where theRangers must avoid defeat to avoid bearing witness to a title party.
In any other Country this would be a shock, in Scotland it elicits little more than a shrug, and there is little doubt there will be much need to ask “S’ happenin’ Beaton” on Sunday, we can fairly sure we’ve all got a fair idea what lies in store.
And you know what, I’m certain given the choice of a fit Alfie or a whistle in the mouth of John Beaton at Celtic Park on Sunday the Zombies would probably plump for the latter.
Shaun Riley
