The online bun fight has replaced post-match pint
NOT TO deflect from the main issue of the week in Scottish football, which appears to be the sacking of the Hamilton Accies co-commentator for a rather vivid description of his half-time constitutional – now infamously known as “Jobbygate” – but it appears our officials have been at it again.
This was not initially brought to my attention by Rangers striker Kemar Roofe’s tackle on St Johnstone’s Murray Davidson, however.
In the second half of Motherwell’s game against Dundee United on Wednesday night, Well defender Nathan McGinley was booted in the face in the opposition box, an offence that referee Don Robertson somewhat mystifyingly deemed unworthy of a penalty kick.
Despite not watching the game, I know this because it’s the first thing my Motherwellsupporting father mentioned to me about the match. Not the vital win in a relegation battle or the wonderful team goal scored by Christopher Long, but the boot in the coupon that went unpunished.
There are many truths to be garnered from this exchange. Firstly, in case my old man is reading, that of course Motherwell were robbed and it is indeed an egregious scandal. Secondly, fans still love above all else to have a right good moan about referees. And, finally, that perhaps the standard of officiating in this country could do with a bit of attention.
What certainly cannot be drawn from the incident is irrevocable proof that Robertson somehow has it in for Motherwell. And yet, had this incident occurred in a game involving either Celtic and Rangers, there are those who would have taken it as yet another example of institutional bias against their club from the officials, even had their own team not been involved in the game.
Which brings us back to the Roofe flashpoint at Ibrox. There is a debate to be had over whether so much is made of such incidents because of the media’s post-match focus on them, or whether the media focus on them because that’s what the majority of fans will be talking about.
I’m leaning towards the latter these days, as enhanced, slow-motion videos of Roofe’s tackle were plastered all over social media long before either manager had set foot in the press room.
To get their tuppence-worth is only natural. Particularly in these times when fans can’t be at matches, the online bun fight has replaced the postmatch pint as a forum to air these grievances and it is hard not to feel at least a modicum of sympathy for referees when their every decision is scrutinised in such meticulous fashion.
And for every stamp by Alfredo Morelos that goes unpunished, there is an elbow
from Scott Brown that did, too. For a group of supporters whose majority opinion appears to be against the introduction of VAR here after seeing what it takes away from the game down south, Scottish fans don’t half spend a lot of time poring over footage and highlighting whichever incidents serve to suit their own agendas.
For what it’s worth, my opinion is that Roofe should have seen red. But then, I was able to see the tackle slowed down from three angles just by opening up Twitter, unlike referee David Munro. There didn’t seem to be much intent, but he does lose control and could have had no arguments had the colour of the card been different.
Within minutes, though, social media was awash – with Celtic fans, in the main – demanding retrospective action and holding the video up as proof of how officials favour Rangers over them. Conveniently forgetting of course that their own team had benefited from a couple of dubious decisions the previous night against Kilmarnock at Rugby Park, as Albian Ajeti went down like a Polaris under the slightest of attention from Killie goalkeeper Colin Doyle to win a penalty, and Odsonne Edouard tucking away their third goal from an offside position. Ajeti, indeed, has been retrospectively charged for simulation.
Fans of non-Old Firm clubs have been incredulous for years that either side of the Glasgow divide could feel hard-done by when it comes to refereeing decisions, while fans of either Glasgow side are convinced they get the – to crudely crowbar in the word of the week again – jobby-covered end of the stick.
The truth is that referees are human. They have never been under more scrutiny, and a decent case could be made that a few among their number are not quite up to scratch.
The question that should be asked though is how we go about supporting those officials to improve, rather than questioning their professional integrity. Indeed, while the motives of Rangers manager Steven Gerrard may have been to protect his own player when he mentioned his desire for consistency from officials and the disciplinary process recently, surely consistency is indeed what every fan wants to see from referees.
So no, John Beaton isn’t in the Crown Bar yucking it up about how much he’s diddled Celtic over the years, and Willie Collum isn’t regaling his class with tales of sticking it to Rangers.
Mistakes will always be made, of course, but we should be investing in our referees to ensure that these instances become fewer and farther between. For my old man’s blood pressure, if nothing else.
Within minutes social media was awash