Ro tten r e f er eeing won’t s top Ange’s machine

Celts are nine points clear at the top of the table despite some questionable decisions

NINE in a row and nine points clear at the top of the table. Fifty goals scored in the Scottish Premiership after 15 games. That’s why Celtic are champions.

The Hoops reeled off their ninth domestic win on the spin to surge a healthy nine points ahead of the chasing pack as Scottish football heads into the break for the 2022 World Cup finals in Qatar.

Celtic’s 2- 1 victory over Ross County was the definition of a hard- fought win for the defending champions. It is, you could say, the kind of game where titles are won. Think Anthony Ralston’s 97th- minute winner in Dingwall last season then read Sead Haksabanovic’s strike in this encounter.

Nothing has been clinched yet of course and we know from experience that Ange Postecoglou’s men will continue to run their own race. However, this felt like a pivotal and significant victory for Celtic in terms of the Scottish Premiership title race.

So much so that former Rangers striker Kris Boyd has already conceded this season’s title. A title concession in November? It’s almost unheard of.

So it’s all been so far so good for the men in green and white then, hasn’t it? Well, no.

We are five games into new technology being installed in Scottish football and there is uproar from the Hoops faithful.

No team has been bitten more by VAR than Celtic so far. Every one of the five games has involved controversial officiating calls; they are at the summit of the Premiership in spite of it.

During the County game, referee David Munro had a shocker. VAR Euan Anderson wasn’t too far behind him.

The biggest flashpoint was when midfielder Matt O’Riley was penalised for a handball which was neither intentional nor unnatural. David Cancola scored the opener from the resultant spot- kick and all of a sudden Celtic were up against it.

O’Riley was scathing in his criticism of the incident, saying: “I don’t really know what I could have done, to be honest. My hand is by my side. I don’t know if the ball hit my arm and then my hip or my hip then my arm.

“I literally don’t know where else I can put my arm. It is one of those ones. We’ve had some strange decisions go against us recently, to say the least, but they still can’t stop us so it’s alright.”

It takes more than refereeing ineptitude to halt Postecoglou’s green and white juggernaut in its tracks though. The Hoops are made of sterner stuff.

It’s also to Postecoglou’s eternal credit that, while the officials seem to want to make VAR the star, he refused to even acknowledge its failings in the immediate aftermath of the success against the Staggies.

The Aussie is clearly sick and tired of talking about VAR and officiating. That’s why he shifted the focus of attention to his players who, despite the difficult on- field circumstances, somehow found a way to win again.

“I thought the boys were absolutely outstanding,” Postecoglou said. “It has been a long stretch of games and to perform like that under not the easiest of circumstances ... I could not be prouder of them.

“It was a strong performance from a really strong group of players. It’s character, it’s quality. They are good football players and they are strong characters and, for any manager, that is a pretty good combination.

“It’s been an enormous shift from them and credit to them because it’s not just the number of games it’s been the travel and I’m making five or six changes every game and no- one’s complained, no- one’s made excuses. It’s not easy when guys are coming in and out so for them to be perfect in the league through this stretch is outstanding.”

VAR is slowly but surely stripping the enjoyment out of football for a lot of people. You can see it on Postecoglou’s face every time he’s asked to comment on the technology. You could hear it in O’Riley’s voice in the County aftermatch interview.

There is no easy solution or answer because VAR is here to stay – although officials knowing their own rules would be a handy starting point. Thank goodness for IFAB.

On a more positive note,

Celtic don’t need to hear about VAR for a few weeks as they head to Australia for Postecoglou’s homecoming tour where the manager will also be inducted into the Football Australia Hall of Fame in acknowledgement of his contribution to developing the game in the country as well as his own personal achievements.

It’s quite something for the Celtic boss to be inducted into a football hall of fame in his homeland. It is unlikely Munro and Anderson will ever know that feeling; rather, their refereeing performances on Saturday belonged in Scottish football’s hall of shame.

The officials should chew

VAR is slowly but surely stripping the enjoyment out of football for a lot of people

down hard on O’Riley’s statement. We have had some strange decisions go against us recently, to say the least, but they still can’t stop us. That’s a verbal two- fingered salute to the officials if ever there was one.

Even with VAR operating at its worst, the last word on Saturday’s events inside Paradise should also go to O’Riley.

“We have shown the whole season when we have been level or been behind that we can come back and win a game,” he said. “We are really happy, we’re in a good place.”

That much has been true since Postecoglou touched down in Glasgow’s East End.