Rodgers has claimed that Celtic’s match against Hearts was decided by officials.
When a manager comes out as strongly as that it is time for the people in authority to take notice but in truth Ian Maxwell and Crawford Allan will be manning the hatches today and this week to defend John Beaton and Don Robertson.
Beaton has been given the main name-checks by Rodgers but ultimately the decisions fall on Robertson, two men competing with each other for the top appointments, the most lucrative pay days and trips.
That relationship gets tested on VAR, match referees are uncomfortable going against the suggestion from their colleague, the remainder of the match becomes uncomfortable if a VAR check is taken but the match official sticks with his original assessments.
Yesterday Beaton overstepped the mark, not once but twice. The man that ignored a double handball by Connor Goldson last January in the Glasgow Derby at Ibrox came up with a ridiculous call against Tomoki Iwata.
The scene had been set before then with the red card for Yang. More severe and dangerous incidents are ignored every week, the Celtic winger was stationary but Beaton jumped into action with Robertson too weak to over rule his colleague from Bellshill.
Brendan absolutely scathing post match. John Beaton fully called out. pic.twitter.com/Zq8Fbsqi4W
— 20 Minute Tims (@20MinuteTims) March 3, 2024
Rodgers said:
My feeling is the game was decided by the officials, on the field and outside of the field. You guys will know me long enough and I have been around long enough to know that I don’t really comment on officials. I know that they make mistakes and whatever else but today that felt like really really poor officiating.
I think the first one – the sending off – there is no force but if you show a still image of that then, of course, it looks like a foot up with the head near it. It is not the reality of the move.
If you watch the move again and Don (Robertson), actually got it right on the field, it was a high boot, okay, so it’s a yellow card. There is no malice or force, for John Beaton to look at that on VAR supposedly under no pressure and to say that was a sending-off, I find that incredible.
With those comments it seems certain that the SFA will hit Rodgers with a Disrepute charge. At that point things get interesting, the Irishman will defend himself brilliantly, there will be no reasonable defence of Beaton and Robertson from the SFA.
If the SFA don’t charge Rodgers it gives every manager in the country licence to call out the weekly farce that Maxwell and Allan have created then stood back and admired.
CLICK HERE for the post match interview on Sky Sports.
CLICK HERE for That Cost Us Today- Rodgers on Beaton.
CLICK HERE for SSB caller claims Lawwell is better than Larsson.
