SFA FINALLY got something right
LONG before t he invention of goal-line technology, Ernie Walker’s all- seeing eye clocked wrongdoing in Scottish football at every turn.
Pulpit-thumping denunciations of the game’s infidels by the late secretary of the SFA earned him t he nickname of ‘ The Ayatollah’. It was never intended as a compliment.
Before his death at the age of 82, old Ernie predicted that people would only say nice things about him when he was gone. He was spot on.
From current president Rod Petrie to chief executive Ian Maxwell, SFA office bearers are there to deal with the nasty things in life. A lightning rod for frustration, they are human stress balls. This is the pact they make in return for the free air miles and a blazer with a badge.
Covid-19 makes good decision making impossible. Everything comes down to the least worst solution.
And when people don’t fancy the choices they make, blowing off steam in the direction of the SFA offers a slice of normality in these abnormal times.
Fans of every club can rattle off a list of atrocities inflicted on their team by referees or the outgoing compliance officer. And don’t get them started on ticket prices, the events of 2012, the national team or the decision to stay put at Hampden.
The g overning body are perceived as useless, incompetent, dishonest and biased. And that’s on a good day.
But Celtic’s quadruple Treble wasn’t the only historic and unprecedented event to happen at the Scottish Cup Final.
More striking still was an SFA decision people actually approved of.
And instead of the ruling body receiving a rare pat on the back, nobody uttered a peep.
With fans locked out of grounds and clubs starved of their main source of i ncome, there’s no c hance of t he authorities spending £1million a year on Video Assistant Referees.
But before the Scottish Cup semi-finals the SFA did splash out £50,000 on hawkeye goal-line t echnology at t he national stadium. And the cameras repaid every penny last Sunday.
So much so that John Beaton must have been the only man who left Hampden more relieved by the way things turned out than Neil Lennon.
In years gone by Celtic would have been awarded the trophy after an iffy 2-1 win in normal time because officials hadn’t spotted a legitimate Hearts goal crossing the line. And you can imagine how that would have gone down.
Hearts fans already think their club were well and truly shafted by the events of last summer.
They don’t think they were relegated from the Scottish Premiership by the SPFL. They think they were expelled.
They don’t believe the season was curtailed because of coronavirus. They think it was curtailed to gift Celtic the title.
And the SFA’s determination to finish the Scottish Cup at all costs? Forget that commercial contract with William Hill or giving the broadcasters some bang for their buck. Most think it was nothing more than a blatant attempt to make sure the Parkhead side won their quadruple Treble.
All of which would have made for one hell of a fall- out if that equaliser from Stephen Kingsley in normal time had been ruled out.
There’s no question Beaton and his officials got a few things wrong.
They failed to spot Steven Naismith stamping on Scott Brown in the first half.
They failed to spot Celtic keeper Conor Hazard being jostled and impeded by Naismith for the corner which led to the goal.
They seemed oblivious to the f act Ryan Christie blocked the ball behind the line with his left arm.
But none of that really mattered because they got the really big decision right. Eventually Beaton gave Hearts the goal when replays showed the ball was clearly over the line.
Football can’t operate by a system of wild west justice. It can’t hang around waiting for that old cliché about bad decisions evening themselves out over the course of a season to come true. It needs referees to get the big decisions spot on when they happen. And the introduction of goal-line technology is a small step in the right direction. Even if no one had the faintest idea the SFA had i nstalled crossbar cameras in the first place.
However they got there in the end, the decision-makers found a way to get a huge call in a showpiece game 100-per- cent correct.
And the consequence of that was a rare Christmas of peace and relative goodwill free of bitter, unnecessary, tribal, internecine squabbling in Scottish football.
Treasure i t while it l asts. Rangers play Celtic next week.