Chris Sutton has come out swinging against what he perceives as an unnecessary show of force by the Scottish Football Association (SFA), which has only added fuel to the fire ahead of the Glasgow derby, while placing an enormous amount of pressure on referee John Beaton.
The ex-Celtic hero thinks that Beaton being picked for Sunday’s pivotal match is a clear attempt by the powers at Hampden to assert their dominance.
This move comes hot on the heels of Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers receiving a suspension from the SFA for his critical comments about Beaton and Don Robertson’s roles as VAR and match referee in a recent clash against Hearts at Tynecastle where the bhoys conceded the most dubious of penalties thanks to Beaton’s interventions.
Sutton is convinced that this move by the SFA to assert their authority has spectacularly backfired, creating two major and avoidable problems before the big game even begins.
The Englishman has witnessed the surge of frustration from fans of both teams regarding Beaton’s appointment. He argues that this has now put Beaton in an incredibly tough spot, leaving no room for error when the game gets underway.
He shared his thoughts with RecordSport, “It seems to me that, after recent goings-on, this an attempt from the SFA to show they will not be dictated to or influenced when it comes to match officials. It’s a powerplay from the top brass and, in some respects, I get that. I also think that is a reasonable enough approach in a general sense. But for this weekend? This game? This ref? I don’t think that was clever or wise. Look at the reaction since. It’s blown up already and we’re days away from the game actually kicking off.”
Sutton elaborated on the predicament and the angst it’s caused among both sets of supporters, with some Celtic supporters convinced Beaton will favor Rangers, while some Rangers fans believe he’ll lean towards Celtic to compensate for the criticism from Rodgers. “You’ve got two sets of supporters now feeling as if they are going to be hard done-by or feeling uneasy about it. Some Celtic fans think Beaton is going to give Rangers every decision. Some Rangers fans think he’s going to give everything to Celtic because of the bashing he got from Rodgers.
“I’m not suggesting for a second that the SFA should, in the majority of cases, appoint referees on the basis of fans either being happy or losing their heads. But, on this one occasion, given there is enough tension in the air for these games, would it not have been better just to pick someone else? It seemed a needless decision and it’s like putting petrol onto flames.”
While the Sky Sports pundit holds no initial qualms about Beaton’s selection, he believes the current context has unfairly increased scrutiny on him. “Beaton cannot do anything wrong on Sunday now. It’s as simple as that. Everyone is going to be on his case, watching his every move, his every decision, his every movement. I don’t think this is a situation in which he needed to be placed by the SFA.”
“Of course, he’ll want to referee the game. It’s the biggest game. But these circumstances are not ideal and surely this could have been avoided. Give him the next one at Celtic Park. And the Scottish Cup Final between the sides if they were both to get there if you want. But the timing of this appointment has caused, in my eyes, a highly unnecessary situation.”
Many see this as Crawford Allan, the head of referees throwing his weight around in his final lap as head of referees at Hampden. Chris is completely correct and only the SFA could muck up this badly. It really feels like two fingers up to supporters and we’ll do what we like petulance ripping out of the appointment.
