Celtic and Ange Postecoglou welcome city rivals Rangers to Glasgow’s east end on Saturday for the third league meeting of the sides so far this campaign.
The Hoops will be aspiring to move twelve clear at the top of the table with victory however opposition manager Michael Beale believes a lack of away fans means referee Kevin Clancy will be put under significant pressure (The Scottish Sun):
“It impacts it because it’s very hostile when you go.
“I think the referees are under a huge amount of pressure.
“Even having just a few fans is better than none, I would say.”
Why Beale thinks having fans or not will in any way, shape or form influence’s Kevin Clancy’s decision making remains to be seen. Referees are paid good money week in, week out in order to make correct calls that are (supposed to be) in no way influenced by crowds.
Beale went on to say:
“You’d always want some fans, even if it was only a small amount.
“I just think it adds to the flavour of the game and, again, the pressure it puts on the referee if you have a large crowd in favour of one team.”
By saying that pressure is put on the referee due to a lack of support in the ground for both teams, Beale may be trying to influence Kevin Clancy.
For example, here, he is effectively saying that Clancy will make decisions in Celtic’s favour due to the sway of the crowd despite this not being the case. Nevertheless, this could play on Clancy’s mind and cause him to unconsciously make decisions he would not normally make as he feels he needs to show how unbiased he is.
Whatever happens, though, if Celtic play their football to the best of their ability they will sweep aside Rangers. Postecoglou’s men have all the quality, they just need to display it on the pitch on Saturday.
