08 Feb 2026 09:40:43
Just a quick post regarding the state of officiating in Scotland. i'm not one for the paranoia around some fans regarding bias officiating but it is blatentley clear the standards and consistency of officiating is embarrassing.
Surely there is a watchdog or something of the sort run by uefa/ fifa to watch over officiating domestically?
Can clubs not bring up concerns to uefa/ fifa regarding standards?
Like i say i'm not one for thinking they are all against us, i feel we get our fair share of bad decisions as do they etc, but the quality and consistency is beyond embarrassing now.
Something is going to need to change as VAR was brought in to be "fix" honest mistakes but, let's be honest, its made officiating worse whereas in other countries its improved decisions.
08 Feb 2026 10:08:07
That tackle by Murray could have broke kts leg if it had been planted, they never even looked at it they set the precedent with yang 2 years ago and I don't think a single player has walked since the pen incident is the quickest var check in history.
08 Feb 2026 10:13:04
Derry Tim, there is a well known and well researched phenomena called "group bias".
The research has shown that members of groups favour other members of their group and act favourably towards them. Sometimes it is done consciously and some times it is done sub- consciously.
That is why all officials should have to declare what team they support and they should not be given games involving their team or their opponents team.
I could list a number of times officials in this country have been dodgy. For example the head of the sfa got caught withholding a Celtic players registration so he could not play against Rangers. This was proven in a court of law. Then we had the head of Scottish refs getting caught sending anti-catholic emails to his like minded colleagues. and was sacked but his pals got to keep their job. Then we had the head of the sfa being complicit in Rangers use of EBTs and their cheating of Scottish football.
08 Feb 2026 10:46:40
DT, you are way too generous. I consider myself a fair minded guy, but what we are seeing is not about a drop in officiating standards but a clear bias against our club (and others) in favour of Sevco. It’s not a new thing but is felt more accutely when the league is tight. When we are 12 points clear, as we normally are at this stage, they know it’s pointless. Collum will do nothing about it as he is weak and intimidated by the culprits in question. Our mainstream media also chose not to make an issue of it, claiming we are paranoid.
What is shameful is silence from our Board on the matter! . They should be all over it like a rash, raising it at every single opportunity with every single decision. They should be alerting all the governing bodies nationally and internationally and using our press conferences to make sure everyone knows we are on to them and put pressure on for it to stop …. Sevco would do (have done) exactly that with much lesser cause or justification than we currently have.
If we don’t act it is going to, without any shadow of doubt, cost us dear.
08 Feb 2026 11:29:19
Douglas Ross on the touchline - David Dickinson in charge of VAR assisted by Andrew Dallas.
A guild of fraternal brothers officiating - a credit to their craft.
08 Feb 2026 12:39:42
I certainly buy into the biased brotherhood theory, not because of any paranoia, but because they make it so bloody obvious. You cannot tell me Beaton, Walsh, McLean, Dallas, Aiken, Dickinson, Ross and Robertson - to name just a few - do not officiate Celtic matches differently from any other team. Especially their club of choice.
08 Feb 2026 13:06:24
I only know of 1 Celtic minded official A linesman who can't influence the game the way the hun cartel do with whistles and VAR.3 months since that lot issued a statement due to all big descions going their way since their meetings regarding Trusty.
08 Feb 2026 15:31:58
The Collective should add the Refs/ Var to their discussion with Wilson.
Tell him with no degree of ambiguity are the fans going to continue buying season tickets to watch a rigged game and we expect to see/ hear immediate discussions with the SFA before this season goes a step further.