dennyc

First up let's agree that it is unacceptable for Officials and their families to be targeted, Anyone threatening them should be prosecuted. Same goes for anyone inciting hate or repercussions online. I include the release of personal information. So I await with interest to see what prosecutions take place. If any. Regards the SFA Statement. It is general and non specific. John Beaton and his family were subject to threats and shocking intimidation following decisions he made in a Celtic v Rangers game. That is a matter of record and is reprehensible. (Was any Celtic fan prosecuted?). But nowhere does the Statement say he was threatened following Wednesday night. Given the nightmare he and his family went through previously I can understand the need for caution and therefore the need for immediate police involvement. A sensible move, particularly as his home address is in the public domain. But a precaution only unless there was/is a specific threat. In which case let us see those prosecutions. Let's call out this Statement for what it is. A deflection from the reality that many Officials are incompetent and unaccountable. A deflection from the possibility that an error may determine who wins the League. A deflection from the reality that there is no plan in place to improve standards despite an admission that errors occur. A deflection from the fact that numerous ex players (with no allegiance to Motherwell or Hearts) were agitated enough to highlight a decision made with no understanding of the game. A deflection in an attempt to turn those incompetent Officials into victims. No doubt many will buy that story as it is a clever narrative. Almost as effective as the concerted efforts of the Celtic media machine which we witness regularly This Statement takes the circling of the wagons to a new level. When you have no justification, go on the attack. Finally. Thanks to our fans who resisted the temptation to confront the Celtic supporters who invaded Fir Park and scared the daylights out of those Motherwell fans in the disabled section. The police and Celtic players certainly did little to help clear the pitch. No surprise there. Fortunately we did not see a rerun of Ibrox a few weeks ago. No doubt just 'exuberance' yet again. Any Statement from the SFA or Celtic? Thought not. And yes! I'm still hurting even though the Hibs result rendered the penalty meaningless in our drive for fourth place,

That Ward was injured when he clashed with Maeda? He got treatment at the time and was noticeably limping. Could just be a precaution if they brought Ox back as cover just in case. Big game for us so all bases need covered.

How does a referee reach that elite grade? I'm guessing it requires ongoing assessment by UEFA or FIFA? If so that only reaffirms that none were regarded as competent enough to officiate at a high level. Presumably the same rule applies to fourth officials, assistants and VAR where we are also unrepresented. Over 150 positions in all. Quite an indictment of Scottish football. Then again Willie Collum and Craig Thomson were involved in so many controversies whilst officiating in Europe that it's no surprise Scotland was put on the naughty step. Those two caused havoc wherever they went. Not a great endorsement.

Collum adjusts the Laws to justify errors made by his team. He will not admit to any mistakes that affect outcomes of games and the presenter will not challenge him. Example .... Re half way line sendings off - " it is not about whether players are likely to get round to cover. It's about the speed of the forward " He actually said that on air! Think it was the week when a Falkirk player was sent off against Utd despite two defenders being in a position to challenge the player who was fouled. That is one of the many flaws with IFAB instructions. Each Association or competition is able to implement the Laws as they see fit. And the more they tamper, the worse it gets. English Clubs always highlight the different hand ball rules that apply in European tournaments. Bayern Munich have an axe to grind in that regard as well following their loss to PSG. Remember when Spain decided that every hand ball in the box was a penalty and a yellow or red card no matter what? Thankfully they were open enough to eventually drop that guidance. Until our Officials, and Collum in particular, are prepared to be honest and accept mistakes are made then nothing will improve. And that won't happen until the Laws are applied consistently across all countries and competitions. Basically, Collum drives how the Laws are applied in Scotland. Possibly why no Scottish Officials are deemed able enough to be at the World Cup in any capacity. Speaks volumes.

Ever since the Rangers home game when he was booed off the park for letting Rangers away with murder McLean has been at the heart of most decisions that have gone against us. Notably the cup tie at Aberdeen and the recent game at Tynecastle. He called both red cards and the penalty. No coincidence in my opinion. Collum having a wee laugh at our expense by appointing him for Saturday. Seems like we are still being punished for repeatedly calling out their incompetence.

Talking of away allocations. Given today’s ruling effectively banning Rangers fans from Celtic Park in case the Bears get their hands on tickets, can we now inform Celtic they will be getting no tickets for Fir Park unless they can guarantee none will end up with the Green Brigade. Precedent now set. And given their record of damage and pitch invasions, player confrontation who could argue. Wonder how that would play out in our wonderful, unbiased media? Guaranteed the Authorities would step in. Re Falkirk Hibs and others of late, great to see our increased support feeding into away matches. But as you say it has its drawbacks. If ST sales increase substantially I guess MFC will need to look at some system to ensure everybody who wants a ticket gets a fair crack. The implications of being a big team! 😃 A themed thread would at least register what us fans think.

Better be careful. You'll get yourself banned from all things SFA, including car parks. Next they'll be demanding the BBC cancels your TV licence so you can't comment on future cock ups by their Officials.

No we won't. Because the attempt to cheat was picked up at the time and dealt with properly. The referee and officials were not conned by Cartwright's attempt at cheating and there was no advantage gained by Falkirk. So in that respect it was nothing like the Slattery incident. Whether we like it or not, Slattery was dealt with as others have been who were found to have gained their club an advantage by cheating ( additional suspended 2 games aside). Plenty of examples. And not just with players of so called wee teams. Hearts and Rangers spring to mind. Nowadays VAR should mean that incidents are dealt with in game time, ensuring no retrospective bans. That is the real failing of the system as far as Slattery is concerned.

There is no incentive to improve no matter how many are involved. Irrespective of how many errors they make or how many times they ignore the Laws, with Collum in charge they are untouchable and decisions justified to the extreme. You just have to watch the farcical monthly review to see the institution in action. Collum has devised his own personal rule book. Quote ' Our stakeholders don't want to see that'. Translation ' We will ignore the Laws (sometimes)'. Possibly one reason why none of his team of experts made the 150 heading to the USA. That speaks volumes. Change will only be possible when leadership is honest and prepared to apply standards. How about instead of an ex referee being in charge, they appoint a former non Scottish player who understands the game and can tell the difference between intent and accidental, the difference between natural and unnatural? Move on from mates covering mates. Better still, just scrap VAR. I am now at the stage where hearing the justification for the ever growing number of errors is more frustrating than the errors themselves.

According to the match programme on Saturday the VAR Official was Steven McLean. The same VAR Official from the Aberdeen cup tie. The same referee who put in a shocking performance in the home game v Rangers a week before the cup tie and was loudly booed off at the end. Obviously just a coincidence as I'm sure he holds no grudges.

Won't matter what size of pool we have if they don't know the Laws of the game and are not held accountable when that ignorance shows like it did Saturday. Will anybody challenge Collum to explain why 3 of his team, 5 if you include the Asst Refs, either didn't know the Law or decided to ignore it? Not a chance.

Under Kettlewell our future looked extremely limited and it was all about survival. It felt like only a matter of time until top flight status was lost. Our players looked almost as fed up as the fans. Games were not enjoyable, even when we won. That was the reality of the situation. Speaking personally I found it more and more of a chore to attend matches. No exaggeration to say that in over 60 years of attending games I had never felt as scunnered. Under Askou I look forward to games and love what I am watching each week, even if the outcome is frustrating at times. That's football for you. All season we have been looking up and not down, with top six achieved at a canter. We have players who are a joy to watch and should attract decent offers should we choose to cash in. Several who were ignored or looked done under Kettlewell are now performing to a high standard. We are looking forward to further progress next season and indications from within the Club are that planning to that end is well advanced. And all that achieved in next to no time. The results comparison surprised me. I admit that. But that alone does not tell the story. The increase in attendances, home and away, would suggest that many folk feel the same way as me. No matter what happens post split, this season has been a positive that none of us could have imagined under Kettlewell. For me that is the comparison that matters. Fans now have belief and are turning up in large numbers. The players look to be enjoying what is being asked of them. He may not be a legend yet but I hope he stays long enough and is supported sufficiently to have a shot at achieving that status.

I guess it is about fairness no matter what club is involved. And the Slattery situation is annoying given it should have been dealt with on the night. No argument about that. Believe me I am annoyed as well as we will miss him when we need him most. The thing that also annoys me though is that a good few on here (not saying that includes you) are playing the victim card...poor wee Motherwell, this would not happen to a big club.... and in doing so are losing sight of what actually happened. Almost turning Slattery into a Martyr.. He isn't. He did a stupid thing and got caught after the fact. Got punished. Same as others, albeit pre VAR. For me that failing of VAR is the big issue the authorities should be dealing with. The ineptitude of their own officials. I think we are all agreed on that? Folk also have a concern about the delay in the matter being dealt with. Seems a fair point on the face of it. Again that aspect is annoying. But if Motherwell had accepted the punishment when cited, the ban could have come into play right away. Dundee and Hibs? By contesting a charge and seeking a hearing, a Club is given two weeks to gather video evidence and witnesses in support of their case whilst the Authorities put together a Panel. Motherwell opted to fight the accusation, and many will agree they were correct to do so, but that may have added to the delay. That's my understanding anyway, looking to the procedures followed in the past. Anyway, thanks heavens there is a game coming up in a few days. We can move on and hopefully get a much needed boost, particularly having suffered through Steve Clarke's latest delivery of fearful football and games for the boys.

That's true if those others were caught in match. But other than the two match suspended nonsense, Slattery received the same punishment as others who were later found to have conned officials into awarding penalties/ red cards. Exactly what we were demanding when Kipre was sent off after Brown conned the referee. Plenty of other examples of similar punishments in the past. Despite comments to the contrary this was not a ground breaking or historic decision. Rangers appealed when it happened to them insisting contact had been made (Aluko dived to win a penalty in a 2-1 win over Dunfermline - 2 match ban) and were unsuccessful. But far easier to ignore precedents and play the victim card. Slattery got caught, got punished in line with others. It's done. Would we have complained had Scott Brown been cited and banned for two games with the Kipre red card rescinded? As others have said, the real issues here are inconsistency and the ineptitude of VAR and the match officials. Had they done their job correctly then it would have been dealt with immediately at less cost to Motherwell and Slattery. In an ideal world, with the introduction of VAR, situations like this should not occur. But in reality they will as long as players continue to exaggerate contact.

He was cited fairly quickly enough according to MFC. That it took so long for a panel to be convened to assess his guilt and punishment is a farce. He then got a suspension which the Club could have anticipated. Especially as they went public in condemning his behaviour, perhaps hoping to avoid what has now happened. Same ban as others who got cited for an act of cheating missed by the officials. I agree the suspended two games has come from nowhere. That part I think is nonsensical. But not the two match ban. Same as Cantwell and Brown should have received. Would we have complained had that pair been banned? Pretty sure if I could be bothered checking back, most on here (including me....and you?) were calling for them to be hammered. Scott Sinclair as another example I think? Amazing how Slattery has gone from cheat to victim though. I thought that approach was reserved for a certain other team. And if we want to be honest about it, Slattery has form. Went down clutching his face right in front of the POD not that long ago. Referee wasn't fooled that time although I admit I was until TV proved me wrong. This time his luck ran out. Hopefully he has learned his lesson as we need him on the pitch. Our referees, Var and authorities are far from competent and certainly seem exempt from accountability and demotion. That is the aspect that needs sorting. But this chain of events started because Slattery let himself, the fans and the Club down. Now we will all pay the penalty. By the way, I like Slattery and hope he signs on for next season.