MJC

And the Daily Record headline on this subject is “Motherwell and Hamilton Accies fined and reprimanded by SPFL amid pyro use and pitch invasions” and that is the main story of the article with the fact that Celtic were also involved and hit with similar sounding like a mere side story. We all saw what happened but that is how it is reported. Anyone who seriously doubts the influence and clout that Celtic have over football, the media and more in this country these days needs to wake up.

Of course but that would indicate that they recognise Celtic and their fans as being more culpable than anyone else for this type of behaviour. But that is never going to happen in 2026 where Scottish football is run by Celtic, for Celtic.

So suspended punishment of a reduction of 100 tickets for Celtic which lasts until 30th June 2027 and a £2500 fine. And the same fine for us with a suspended closure of Block E for the same timescale. And five of our fans and five Celtic fans referred to the SPFL Trusts pyrotechnics awareness course. So there you have it, a slap on the wrist for Celtic and us lumped in with them to dilute the blame. That’s not to say that ‘Block E’ are blameless and indeed they gave the authorities the open goal they needed to drag us into what happened, but this non punishment for the true culprits is as predictable as it is laughable.

It is clear from that that Beaton simply erred on the side of caution and gave the decision in Celtic’s favour. As I said, that tells us nothing that wasn’t already obvious. Beaton is compromised by Celtic and is scared to go against them given past experiences when he has. There was nothing “clear and obvious” about that incident yet VAR thought it was enough to intervene and Beaton obviously had made his mind up to award the penalty as soon as he got the shout, hence the almost immediate awarding of the penalty. Like I said, the whole thing stinks.

The problem so many people have there is that by not lumping them both together and instead calling out Celtic alone then it is seen that you are somehow showing support or favour for Rangers. You see examples of it all the time even on anonymous forums like this, result being that people don’t want to say it’s a Celtic issue for fear of being labelled pro-Rangers or a bigot. Celtic and their supporters know this and cynically exploit it for their own means.

I’ve mentioned this before but will say it again, Celtic went over 80 domestic matches without a red card from March 2024 until January 2026. That is a stat which is got to be some kind of record and indeed one that had it benefited Rangers then Celtic and their cheerleaders would be screaming from the rooftops about “Masonic cheating refs.” And the key thing to remember about this incredible run was that it began when Brendan Rodgers publicly went after Beaton for calling a red card and a penalty against Celtic in a match against Hearts which Celtic lost. They even got their lawyers in to contest Rodgers touchline ban for it.

No I can’t agree that it is an ‘Old Firm’ issue. Not in today’s game and today’s world where Celtic clearly have more clout and control than Rangers do. They have the media, the authorities and politicians on their side in a way that Rangers simply don’t. Time was Rangers were the ‘establishment club’ in the country and I think if you look at the 1990s in particular they got far more favourable refereeing decisions than anyone else, Celtic included, but just because something was the case once doesn’t mean that it is still the case now. The game has changed, the ‘Overton window’ has shifted and now through excessive PR, crying victim, hounding referees to the point of getting some thrown out the game and striking overall it is Celtic who are refereed to a different standard than everyone else. And their support are becoming more and more entitled and emboldened with each passing year. You see it in the way they behave even towards their own club at times and that’s before you mention numerous pitch invasions, overcrowding away stands and causing thousands of pounds worth of damage to stadiums. And yet you never hear a peep from the media or the authorities about it unless they can bring another set of fans, usually Rangers, into the equation to reduce the spotlight on Celtic, but even if they can’t bring Rangers into it they manage to mention incidents at lower league matches to try and balance it out. And that is why it will keep happening with Celtic and their fans. Finally, you say that had it been Rangers we were playing and they were going for the title then the outcome with that penalty decision would have been exactly the same, well I’m not sure it would have been, certainly not with Beaton as the ref. Put it this way, had Beaton given Rangers a penalty under those circumstances which enabled them to win the League any deny Celtic the title then he wouldn’t referee another game. He would have been hounded by Celtic and their media mouthpieces in a way much, much worse than he was over the actual incident. And Celtic would be pushing all the way for the audio to be released, probably getting their legal teams involved until they got what they wanted, which they absolutely would get. I’m not saying that Rangers don’t have a lot more sway in what goes on and more media exposure and support than us and clubs like us, because they clearly do, but Celtic are way, way out ahead of them on all fronts in this day and age.

I don’t think hearing the audio from that night will tell us much that isn’t already pretty obvious to be honest. VAR saw a ‘potential’ handball which obviously wasn’t but Andrew Dallas or whoever it was likely knew that John Beaton is too scared to give any big call against Celtic and would take the ‘safer’ option by giving them a penalty. And it took Beaton literally seconds to watch that and give it when it would have been impossible to be able to determine that in that time. Celtic run the show and the whole thing stinks. I’m not talking about daft conspiracy theories like lodges, dodgy handshakes and knowing nods, I’m talking about that club having such a hold on football, media and society that they are running it through fear and intimidation. Celtic caused a refereeing strike in 2010 for far less than what happened at Fir Park earlier this month and since then they’ve had almost everything their own way. And on the odd occasion that they haven’t the officials in question have been absolutely hounded by them, their fans, the managers and their media stooges. John Beaton being the most obvious but there have been others. The reality is that Celtic Football Club are an absolute cancer on Scottish Football.

I’d say it’s more that he embraces the problem, many that there are, at that club. Celtic and their fanbase’s ‘victim mindset’ ramped up tenfold when O’Neill went there in the year 2000, along with the attitude you see nowadays of “let us behave how we want, say what we want, sing what we want and if you have a problem with any of that you are an anti-Catholic, anti-Irish right wing racist…but don’t you say or sing anything that we don’t like because that offends us”. He emboldened them with and created a siege mentality, using Neil Lennon in particular to push the anti-Irish agenda and result of all of that is Celtic have the footballing authorities, the media and politicians scared of doing or saying anything to upset them. Do not believe for one second that Martin O’Neill is anything other than a very dangerous, manipulative person.

O’Neill has always been a nasty piece of work. Don’t let his doddery auld man act fool you, he has always been able to appeal to the worst element of Celtic’s support. He did it years ago when he was there first time around and he is doing it again with his comments about the penalty against us and the behaviour of their support last week. Deflect, deny and lie through your teeth. That is the Glasgow Celtic way and O’Neill is an absolute master of it all.

The fact that they’re even dragging incidents from lower league games into this speaks volumes. They just cannot be seen to be singling out Celtic, even though this is all down to them and their entitled supporters and that all goes back to the absolute chokehold that that club have on the authorities and the media in this country.

Whatever happens there will be minimal if any serious repercussions for Celtic even though their supporters were 100% responsible for both incidents. You can guarantee that had any of our fans retaliated by also invading the park at the Celtic game then we would be being painted as the aggressors while Celtic’s fans were simply jubilant in celebration, the same as what happened with the Cup tie at Ibrox where Celtic fans invaded the park. Celtic have too many people in high places for anything major to befall their way in terms of suitable punishment.

We’re going to get papped out of Europe at a canter no matter who we face. Europe is a big thing for the club on paper and we have deserved the qualification spot, but for me the reward was how good we were when we were at our best this season and the big results that went with it. Our ‘Euro tour’ will be the usual anti climax or potential humiliation as it always is for us. The big bonus from European qualification for me is a seeded spot in the last 16 of the league cup where hopefully (though it quite often doesn’t go this way for us admittedly) we can get a more favourable draw.

I think it would be a lazy appointment which would be pinning hopes on him being able to continue what JBA has done, but without Jens. Perhaps I just have PTSD over Malpas replacing Butcher but the assistant being promoted to the main job just gives me the fear. As I said, the job is a lot more attractive now than it was a year ago. We have had a lot of plaudits as a team and as a club and have Europe next season (on paper at least). So we advertise it and see who is interested.

Most definitely not. But certainly our most exciting manager since Mark McGhee first time around and a much more likeable character than McGhee and Alexander who also got us European qualification. And a much better mindset and attitude than longer serving managers who also had success for us like Stuart McCall. He had us going into games against Celtic and Rangers believing we could beat them and lo and behold we record wins against both for the first time in over twenty years. Compare that to the meek, subservient pish we got against those sides under McCall’s management where you had key players like Stephen Craigan admitting that they were ‘scared’ to go to Ibrox etc. JBA changed our play and our mindset and that was brilliant to see.

JBA certainly more than surpassed expectations when he came in and when we were on it under him we were brilliant to watch. I wouldn’t go so far as to say he was elite level based on his time at us but he certainly had us playing some great stuff even though we fell away toward the end of the season. His record in the Cups was a black mark given the way we exited both and the team selection for the Aberdeen tie and we dropped a lot of points from winning positions especially early in the season. Overall he was a success for us. It could and perhaps even should have been better but he was certainly an excellent manager for us and he goes now with the best of wishes.

It’s just the way football goes, when a player/coach/manager does well at a ‘provincial club’ then it is inevitable that they will be poached by a bigger club sooner or later. It’s not unique to us. What I would say though is that this is why it is important to enjoy and savour when we do have a player or manager instead of worrying about the above happening. Because if it’s going to happen then there’s nothing that can be done to stop it and talking/worrying about it just prevents you from enjoying it while it lasts. Tam Cowan is the biggest culprit for this as I have said before on here and I found his attitude and comments pretty disappointing given the platform he has and how he is basically our most high profile fan. The night we beat Celtic 2-0 at Fir Park and absolutely dominated them in a way never seen before he was straight on the radio after it saying that it was only a matter of time before JBA was away and that we’d be lucky to keep him until the end of the season and so on. Nothing about the result, nothing about the performance of the team, just “it’s all gonna end any minute”. That really got up my nose at the time because at a time when the focus should be on us having a really good side and playing really good football our most well known fan was pouring cold water on it all on the radio. Well, up yours Cowan. Jens was here until the end of the season and now he has gone we move on. It’s just a pity you couldn’t focus more on what he was doing for us while he was here rather than spouting tired old nonsense about how it was all going to end any minute.

Sorry to see Jens go but it was always inevitable after the way he had us playing and achieving way more than anyone would have thought possible last year when he came in. Whoever takes over certainly has big shoes to fill but we as a club move on, no one person is bigger than the club. It will be interesting to see which direction the club look in to appoint his successor but the job is arguably much more attractive than it was this time last year. I sincerely hope we do not hand it to Max Rogers.

No you didn’t mishear him, he definitely said that he thought it was a handball and therefore the correct decision. He also bemoaned the ‘media’ for wanting JBA to be poached by another club whilst conveniently overlooking that he hasn’t shut up about how Jens was likely to be tempted by a bigger club since Christmas time. Likewise Maswanhise who he was touting for a big move in January every single weekend while the window was open. The guy is a bellend.

This is what happens when you give entitled, arrogant arseholes like the Celtic support an inch. They are out of control and basically doing whatever they like with no comeback. There was no Rangers fans at Fir Park or at Celtic Park today to shift the blame onto for Celtic’s fans behaviour, where Hearts effectively had to take their players off the park BEFORE the end of the game for their safety and straight onto the team coach. That is the second time in a few days that a game has ended with thousands of Celtic fans on the field of play but this time it was worse. Hearts should be all over this and be shouting from the rooftops about how they had to remove their players due to them being accosted or even possibly assaulted by Celtic supporters. I’m sure Derek McInnes will have plenty to say, he ‘gets it’ he knows what Celtic are.

That is straight out of the Celtic/Peter Lawwell book of deflect and point the finger in the other direction. Funny that eh?

Another defeat coming here. 2-1 Hibs

Beaton is terrified of Celtic. He’s not the only one but I’d say of all the match officials he is the one who has been most compromised by Celtic and is exactly where they want him. Two years ago after a 2-0 loss at Tynecastle, Brendan Rodgers made a specific point of calling out John Beaton by name after he had been on VAR and called a red card and a penalty against Celtic. Rodgers knew exactly what he was doing that day, he was blowing the dog whistle knowing that the Celtic PR machine and their deranged element would kick into action and round on John (drinks in Rangers pubs) Beaton. And it worked. Beaton received abuse and threats, not for the first time and Celtic brought in their legal teams to challenge the touchline ban that Rodgers got for his remarks. Result of the above was Celtic went over 80 domestic matches in almost two full years without receiving a domestic red card and John Beaton has been involved in several key incidents where he has given Celtic the benefit of the doubt. Ours last night, the last minute penalty against Kilmarnock earlier in the season and there have been more.

I’ve been saying that for years. Trying to clam that it’s an “Old Firm problem” or “they’re just as bad as each other” lets the real culprits off the hook. And obviously you get the usual dribbling nonsense about saying as much equates to you being “pro-Rangers” or that “you’re giving strong vibes of Rangers being the big team you support” and such like. It is of course much easier and dare I say it much safer to criticise Rangers as they don’t have the clout Celtic have in media and politics. It’s also quite fashionable to be a vocal Rangers hater and what I would also say is that had Rangers fans caused even half as much mayhem and damage at Fir Park over the years then A LOT more would have been made of it. It would probably be being discussed in Holyrood at some point. On another issue, something I didn’t notice last night but did today when I saw it on X, once Celtic score the penalty and the pitch invasion happens, the game doesn’t restart with us taking centre. Beaton just blows for full time with hundreds of their hoardes still on the park, so basically Celtic and their fans can decide when the game stops as well? I’ve never seen that before and I’ve seen plenty of last minute penalties being scored but the other team always takes centre before the final whistle is blown, but not last night?

Celtic are running Scottish football and their fans are out of control and can basically do whatever they like with impunity. What happened at the end of the game with their fans has happened at Fir Park before and will happen again and I said as much a couple of months ago when the bother at the Old Firm game at Ibrox was being discussed. And as I also said at the time it was Celtic fans to blame for that mayhem because they invaded the park and was met with the usual “ah but they only went on to celebrate, Rangers fans were worse, the real aggressors, they wore masks, Rangers are yer big team etc etc”. Well this is where attitudes like that get us, because too many people can’t or just won’t face up to the reality that in this day and age it is Celtic fans who are the absolute worst in this country, instead they hide behind the feeble “two cheeks of the same arse, Old Firm as bad as each other” or else they are too blinded by their hatred of Rangers that they just can’t see what is staring them in the face. And please do not anyone try and raise me “ahh but you’re forgetting that time we were 2-0 up and Rangers fans invaded the park forty odd/fifty year ago” because that is irrelevant to what happens today, in 2026, when it is most definitely Celtic and their fans who are clearly the issue. How many times do their fans have to invade the park at our ground, cause damage to seats, clash with stewards and so on before people wake up?