Celtic goalkeeper Craig Gordon has commented on the SFA’s three-man panel for retrospective punishment, suggesting fan allegiance plays a role in decision making.
The comments bring the Scottish game into disrepute and are wildly irresponsible from a professional player. If anything, such dangerous speculation should be retrospectively punished.
Irresponsible comments
These comments suggest that teams are hurt by fan allegiance in refereeing. As easy as that is to believe, it’s a load of complete nonsense.
These are professionals. People who have a responsibility to manage and promote the game in this country. To suggest they’re against one side is nothing but pot stirring tribalism.
Some of them are just genuinely incompetent.
“But that’s what they want you to believe!”
Craig Gordon too has a responsibility not to feed these attitudes and to protect the integrity of the game here. All this does is add fuel to the fire. The cry of conspiracy is one thing many Old Firm fans have in common.
These comments also feel like a subtle nod to rival Scotland goalkeeper Allan McGregor evading punishment last week.
Who’d be a referee here? It feels like we’re constantly talking about them.
Old Firm undoubtedly get bigger decisions
The truth is the SFA Panel have dug themselves a massive hole in recent seasons.
It began with the rescinding of Scott Brown’s horror red on Liam Boyce. It was a red card all day, but fan and club pressure on a big game against Rangers had them scrambling. The SFA buckled and reduced it to a yellow. To hear Gordon moan in the face of this is laughable.
Since then they’ve stumbled, grumbled and mumbled their way through two seasons of retrospective punishment.
They have put themselves under pressure by pandering to supporters. Especially when it concerns the Old Firm.
What’s more, it’s the smaller clubs who’ve suffered. Everyone just wants an even playing field. Steve Clarke will face disciplinary action after suggesting small clubs like Kilmarnock are “fair game”.
Fan pressure is a major player and there needs to be more of a spine from the beaks up top. Everything is so scrutinised. This attitude from Craig Gordon is further truth of it.
Gordon’s comments reek of conspiracy claptrap and do nothing to alleviate this backwards Scottish footballing charade. Quite the opposite.
Just call the decisions correctly. Wipe the slate clean. Let the fans argue. They do anyway.