Scottish Referees Under Scrutiny Once More
Mere days after the penalty that wasn’t a penalty (or was it?) in the League Cup final between Celtic and Rangers, Scottish football had another officiating controversy, this time involving two of the Premiership’s “smaller” clubs.
The Full Scottish
Served by Brian P. Dunleavy
Over the weekend, Motherwell’s Dan Casey was shown a straight red for “violent” conduct after a slight push on Kilmarnock’s Danny Armstrong. The match ended 1-1. Motherwell manager Stuart Kettlewell was blunt in his assessment.
“After the game I said it was in the top three worst decisions from games I’ve been involved in—on hindsight I’ve looked at it again and composed myself and it is genuinely the worst one I’ve seen,” he told the press on Monday.
On Tuesday, the SFA rescinded the red card and gave Casey a yellow—just in time for Christmas. The defender faced Celtic at Parkhead on Boxing/St. Stephen’s Day, a match the Steelmen still lost 4-0.
One could argue all’s well that ends well in this case, but a second (possible) black eye for match officials in as many weeks isn’t a good look for Scottish football.
For what it’s worth, Rangers manager Philippe Clement recently said “all of Europe” (if only) talked about the decision that cost his side on December 15th and that it was a “bad advertisement” for the Scottish game.
Speaking of bad looks, only one of the 12 clubs in the Scottish Premiership—Rangers—publicly supported the Rainbow Laces for LGBTQ+ inclusion initiative this year, and the Ibrox club’s social media post touting the campaign was reportedly met with bigoted comments.
Retired football Zander Murray, who came out publicly in 2022 while plying his trade in the lower leagues in Scotland, told the media, “Every time Rainbow Laces comes round, it hurts my soul. The abuse is getting worse…” So much for social progress.
And, at least two clubs in the Scottish game are looking to partner with others elsewhere. Following in the footsteps of the relationship between Aberdeen and Atlanta United, Dundee recently announced a partnership with Liga MX side Monterrey that will see players from the successful Mexican club come Tayside.
“The thing I really need to commend the club on … we’re always thinking outside the box,” noted Dens Park bench boss Tony Docherty. “The by-product of that is that we’ll get good players in, they’ll get good experience coming and playing in Scotland and it’s just another way you’re trying to be a wee bit ahead of the game.”
Perhaps the SFA can discuss bringing in Mexican referees in next.