HALLIDAY’S HOPE AFTER CUP AGONY
Hartson amazed that ref is set for Old Firm
JOHN HARTSON believes the SFA should have taken referee Don Robertson entirely out of Sunday’s William Hill Scottish Cup semi-final at Hampden.
Robertson was caught in the eye of a storm at Dingwall on Sunday afternoon when he awarded a last-minute penalty to Ross County after Alex Schalk took a dive in the Celtic penalty box. The decision infuriated the Parkhead side and Hartson believes the ensuing controversy surrounding the incident makes it impossible for the official to go into the game, where he has been selected as a goal-line official, without coming under further scrutiny. “I think there’s too much pressure,” said Hartson. “Too much pressure for him, personally. I don’t know why he would want to do that. It’s a
BigJohn questions decisionto callonDon very delicate situation. He’s obviously feeling very embarrassed, if he’s a realist and he’s honest, I personally would just say, ‘Look, leave me out of that one,’ if I was the referee or the assistant.
“Take yourself out of the fray. Put somebody else in. Why aren’t the referees protecting him? Why stick him into that big game? Let him go for lunch with his family on Sunday. Give the guy a break.”
Hartson himself, like every former professional, can quickly rhyme off the number of times he fell victim to a poor call from a referee. An incident in the 2003 League Cup Final jumped out immediately when he had a goal wrongly denied against Rangers in a game that the Ibrox side went on to win.
That decision is one of many that have fuelled a long-standing suspicion within the ranks of the Celtic support who feel they have traditionally been dealt the rougher end of the stick.
Hartson today, though, was quick to rebuff that notion while also offering an appreciation of the task that faces Willie Collum this weekend.
“All these conspiracy theories – I’ll leave that to the fans,” said the BBC pundit. “I’ve had two bad ones. There was a League Cup Final against Rangers when I had a goal chalked off that was two yards onside. I scored in my first game at Ibrox – onside.
“I wouldn’t like to do it. Refereeing is the hardest thing to do because you’ve got a split second. The boys on the television, sometimes we sit and watch it 50 times and still can’t decide. The game now is so quick and the players are so fit and powerful, things happen and everybody goes: ‘Referee!’ I do it as well.
“Willie Collum is an experienced ref – he has done big games before.
“I wouldn’t like it to be me because it’s a very hard job. You saw Brendan on Sunday – one of the coolest men on the planet – absolutely infuriated by that decision. That’s what football does to you.”