THE SCOTTISH FA have announced that John Beaton will take charge of Celtic’s match at Pittodrie on Saturday lunchtime. This will be Beaton’s first refereeing assignment involving Celtic since his the match at Ibrox on 29 December when he failed to deal with Alfredo Morelos’ four assaults on Celtic players.
Indeed he later claimed that he had all seen the incidents – which included a stamp on Anthony Ralston as he lay on the ground – but didn’t see anything wrong. And after the game he visited a Rangers minded pub in Bellshill to celebrate the victory for the Rangers that saw them go level on points with the Hoops, but behind on goal difference.
The whole ‘Going for 55’ was in full swing and Beaton responded to the inevitable backlash that his performance at Ibrox caused by claiming that he had received threatening messages on his works phone after the number had been leaked online.
Plenty people tried, unsuccessfully, to find any evidence of this happening but rather than look for the alleged facts the media decided instead to add some legs to the story by claiming it was death threats that Beaton had received.
The Police then, with the media tipped off, turned up at Somerset Park to give the whistler an escort home as a direct result of these ‘death threats’. Strangely there doesn’t seem to have been much further action from Police Scotland as they investigated the matter.
So after all the Scottish FA have decided that the time is right to put Beaton back in charge of a Celtic game. They know that this will be controversial and it is doubly so when you look at their choice of referee for the game at Ibrox on Sunday when Hibs are the visitors.
Willie Collum has been overlooked AGAIN for Rangers games and has not refereed one of their games since Steven Gerrard’s outburst against the Religious Education School Teacher in December after a match against St Mirren which the Rangers won.
Collum appeared to get a second yellow wrong for a Rangers player and Gerrard howled about bias. There was something in Collum’s ‘background’ that made him unsuitable to handle the Rangers games and blow me over with a feather but he’s never been given one of their matches ever since.
Every other team in the league – Celtic included – could have told Gerrard that it’s nothing personal with Collum, it’s just that he’s a pretty rotten referee. Every side has had their own Willie Collum moments – remember he gave Rangers a penalty at Celtic Park when he was looking the other way ad claimed to have heard the non existent foul?
Talking of penalties, the Rangers got another two on Sunday. One was debatable, the Aberdeen player seemed to have ben fouled himself before committing the offence, the other was an absolute joke. The Rangers have had more penalties this season than any other side, they have had more than DOUBLE the number Celtic have had and I read somewhere that they have had more this season than Celtic have had for 6 years.
And on Sunday against Hibs, they have Bobby Madden, a former season ticket holder at Ibrox, in charge.
So Celtic, get the job done at Pittodrie and don’t give Beaton any chance to influence the result. If we do it will be Madden’s pleasure to do his bit the next day.
Oh and if Celtic fail to get a point on Saturday at Pittodrie and Madden’s heroes win the next day, the referee for the Glasgow Derby the next week will be…..
