Next week, Scotland’s referees and SFA chiefs are due for a crucial chat amidst the ongoing Willie Collum saga. [SunSport]
The primary agenda is the aftermath of Rangers’ grievance concerning Collum’s decisions during Celtic’s win.
Crawford Allan, at the helm of referee operations, is bracing for a tense encounter as several officials feel let down by the SFA’s response to the incidents from the December 30 Glasgow Derby match.
While there hasn’t been any whisper of a repeat of the 2010 referees’ strike, the mood is expected to be fiery as Collum’s peers show their support. There’s a strong sense that it’s time for unity, especially after the way the Ibrox club has conducted itself in the aftermath of their defeat. Especially leaking to their favourite journalists in the media that they’ve requested Willie Collum not to officiate their matches. It would be a dangerous precedent to even entertain that notion.
The incident The Rangers are most aggrieved about is a penalty decision that would never have stood. There’s a consensus among Scottish football that they are playing to the galleries.
A year ago in the same fixture Collum failed to give Celtic a penalty for a blatant hand ball at Ibrox, there was no meltdown from Celtic.
We at CeltsAreHere are advocating for these discussions to usher in a new era of transparency for referees and the SFA.
It’s crucial to open up about VAR decisions and the referees’ thought processes. Without this openness, we’re just leaving room for baseless speculations and conspiracy theories.
Although Rangers’ response to their loss has been less than mature, a push for more clarity is something everyone should get behind.
