Referees in Scotland don’t have an easy job, however, as seen by Nick Walsh’s display for Rangers against Kilmarnock, they don’t help themselves either.
At 34-years old, the man in the middle for the Ibrox clash has reached the top of his trade at a young age, but it speaks volumes that there is rarely a good word said about his performances.
What doesn’t help Walsh’s cause is that he works at the Boclair Academy, the school that Rangers send their young players to who have moved away from home – accusations of bias because of this couldn’t be further from the truth.
Nick Walsh flounders in Rangers refereeing performance
The conditions weren’t great, however, Walsh seemed intent on letting Kilmarnock get away with a series of late challenges that players didn’t even get spoken to for.
Oliver Bainbridge was first to go into the book – for a tackle that wouldn’t have looked out of place at Murrayfield.
Boos rang out at half-time but, for once, it wasn’t because of the Rangers squad annoying them, it was because of Walsh and his officiating team turning a blind eye to Kilmarnock’s “physical” approach to the game.
The best example being Joe Wright getting away with an elbow on Nicolas Raskin that led to the Belgian requiring his head to be bandaged up.
Rangers fans fume as Walsh gets booed at half-time
Rangers fans took to social media to vent their frustration at Walsh’s display, far from happy with how he was managing the game.
The statistic at half-time that made no sense at all was Kilmarnock only conceding two fouls.
“Dreadful,” wrote one fan, “Refereeing atrocious as usual from Nick Walsh,” said another frustrated with the whistler failing to deal with Killie’s tactics.
“Nick Walsh couldn’t try harder for Killie here,” a sentiment that many agreed with suggesting that the ref was almost looking to prove that his employment doesn’t affect his judgement.
“Brutal,” said one, “having a mare,” surmised another on a night when one decision either way could have had an impact on the result in what was a tight first-half.
