Picking up on what is trending among Internet Bampots, tonight the Daily Record has highlighted David Dickinson’s celebrations at Hampden.
Rather than being in with his fellow bears singing songs of hatred Dickinson was Fourth Official at Hampden, patrolling the trackside between Philippe Clement and Steven Naismith.
After a tense first half James Tavernier broke the deadlock with a penalty. Substitute Scott Wright scored the second goal of the day in the 54th minute, at that point the relief and joy for Dickinson became evident.
Smiling away his eyes lit up when he made contact with the former Monaco boss, with the joy of that moment he gave a nod of satisfaction, sharing the delight of the winning manager.
Fourth official ‘smiles and nods’ at Philippe Clement after Rangers goal as Celtic and Hearts fans say it’s ‘not a good look’https://t.co/SwTjm0ftmb pic.twitter.com/ubeSDmEdk6
— Daily Record Sport (@Record_Sport) November 5, 2023
Giving it prominence at the top of the football page on the Record website they report:
Official David Dickinson was accused of ‘smiling and nodding’ after Rangers’ second goal against Hearts – with fans on social media saying it ‘wasn’t a good look’ after the moment was caught on TV cameras.
Philippe Clement guided his team to a comfortable 3-1 win over the Jambos and set up a return trip to the national stadium to face Aberdeen on December 17. The first half was tight but a quick double salvo early in the second, where James Tavernier converted a penalty before Scott Wright doubled the lead, put Rangers in control.
And it was after Wright’s crucial strike that some Celtic and Hearts fans pinpointed the moment in Viaplay Sports’ live coverage where fourth official Dickinson appears to smile and nod towards Clement as he turns around after celebrating the goal. One fan wrote: “Not a good look when the fourth official smiles and nods at the Rangers manager after the second goal,” while another fumed at Dickinson’s “wee nod and big grin.”
It is very easy to pick up on a few social media comments and turn it into a story.
There is no background information given on Dickinson or discussion of the matches that he has been involved in.
Being the Fourth Official at a cup semi-final suggests that Dickinson is in line for more high profile matches such as a semi-final or matches involving either Glasgow club away from home.
It will be interesting if any other outlet covers the issue or if the Record follows it up.
After gathering the hits the Record are likely to drop the issue as they concentrate on the joys of having a Proper Manager in charge at Ibrox rather than the back up options of Alan Muir, John Beaton, Dickinson and others.
David Dickinson 🤝 Lodge Prince of Wales, Renfrew. pic.twitter.com/bR3R52r1zI
— CaI (@caim67) November 5, 2023
Genuinely pathetic and embarrassing a man is going to get hounded and abused because of a 1-second smile that there is almost zero context about.
— Jonny McFarlane (@jonnyrmcfarlane) November 5, 2023
Quite extraordinary from David Dickinson. The 4th official has gotten himself into something he could’ve avoided. https://t.co/eoiECYBeaQ
— Stefan (@MrStefanCarlin) November 5, 2023
4th official David Dickinson from Renfrew looks a cert for important games involving @RangersFC https://t.co/I5Tz3ysqRY
— Wee Jim’s TA (@WeeJimsTA) November 5, 2023
