‘Just pandering to 1 club’ ‘Failure to send Balogun off’ ‘Their tears are absolutely delicious’ Maxwell slaughtered as SFA chief breaks cover

Three days after the League Cup Final Ian Maxwell finally decided to speak out, giving a trademark underwhelming performance.

Like the CEO of Celtic, Michael Nicholson, Maxwell has neither the personality, presence of character for his job but enjoys an Executive salary and trimmings for a job way beyond his ability.

Many thought that Maxi was out of his depth as CEO of Partick Thistle, leading them to relegation from the SPFL Premiership in 2018 before picking up a promotion at Hampden.

One stand out line from yesterday was the claim that this was the first time this season that Maxwell had been asked about VAR decisions, perhaps because on December 18 he was making his first public/media appearance of the season.

On Matchday 1 of the SPFL season Greg Aitken wrongly denied Celtic a penalty at home to Kilmarnock, in October Alan Muir did likewise when Daizen Maeda was decked at Fir Park with the ball ending up in the net.

Aitken and Muir are on full time SFA salaries for VAR duties, paid for by clubs and ultimately supporters.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 “Decisions will be wrong, that’s a given.”

Scottish Football Association chief executive Ian Maxwell insists “human nature” dictates that officiating mistakes will happen as the fallout from Rangers’ penalty snub at Hampden Park continues. ⬇️https://t.co/xViCEGje4G

— Clyde 1 Superscoreboard (@ClydeSSB) December 18, 2024

Yesterday the Daily Record reported Maxwell saying:

Decisions will be wrong, that’s a given. We’ll eradicate them as much as we possibly can. VAR has done that in a vast majority of cases. There are always going to be one or two that will fall out with that, because there’s people involved and in anything that involves a person in any walk of life, there will be decisions made that don’t go the way we want them to go or are incorrect. That’s just part of human nature.

We are talking about one decision at the moment. This is the first time that anybody has asked Mike or I about VAR decisions this season. This time last year it was every week. So there has definitely been improvement. The transparency has improved, the referees’ performances on the pitch are improving.

There is an awful lot more than one decision that needs explained from Sunday, that comments confirms exactly what Maxwell and the SFA react to, Phil Clement invited the media to dig in his post-match media conference.

Perhaps when Willie Collum releases the VAR show today we will find out why Leon Balogun wasn’t given a second yellow card and why Jefte raking his studs through Nicolas Kuhn was only a booking.

There is probably more chance of getting evidence beyond the squiggly lines offered up to justify disallowing a ‘goal’ from Kyogo Furuhashi in the September Glasgow Derby.

With refereeing recruitment confined to Glasgow and Lanarkshire the problems are all of the SFA’s own making, reinforced by the appointment of Collum as the new Head of Refereeing.

Today’s production from Collum and Gordon Duncan will as usual be highly selective, with Nicholson sitting it out Celtic fans are again left in the dark about the mysterious decisions that consistently go against their club.

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• Five key Hampden decisions that Celtic want to hear Willie Collum explain
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Even the SFA make mistakes. they are part of a 5 way agreement that is full of mistakes

— Craig Whyte (@RIPRFC) December 18, 2024

Their tears are absolutely delicious.

— Hoopybhoy 🇮🇪🇵🇸 (@PaddyBhoy1965) December 18, 2024

So let’s get the facts here, are they going to tell us about all the mistakes that were made over the weekend or are they just pandering to 1 club, the most greeting faced c..ts in Scottish football.

— Champions again (@bhoy5760) December 18, 2024

Did Rangers not go 2 seasons without a penalty against them and loads for ??

— Hugh Bonner (@HughBonner) December 18, 2024

Nothing about the quick free kick that was called back when Maeda was going to be one on one with the goalkeeper ?

— chris mclachlan 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇵🇱🇵🇸🇪🇸🇱🇧 (@mr_cmcl) December 18, 2024

https://t.co/tMCAf095QX. That standside linesman was at it all day long. Right in front of his nose and he,s giving a foul against Engels…. At every opportunity he ruled against Celtic.. stopped loads more of breaks up the park https://t.co/6DhWI4AT8K

— BENNYBHOYBARDGOVAN (@CapuanoBenny) December 18, 2024

Here’s one for everyone jumping on the cup final VAR officials being removed from duties this weekend.

Why did John Beaton not get removed from duties after such an incompetent display as VAR official at Tynecastle that Rodgers got a suspension for commenting on it.

Yang/Iwata pic.twitter.com/XFxZ5gDJOQ

— Robbo (@SkipBhoy) December 18, 2024

Raging bears pic.twitter.com/k15bmkmzEZ

— Stephen Mckenna (@stevecfc16) December 18, 2024

Anything to say on the foul on CCV in the build up to The Rangers’ 2nd goal that should have seen that disallowed?

— Insert humorous name here (@PolskiHipis) December 18, 2024

If Rangers can’t handle refereeing decisions that go against them, like every other club has to do, then why are they even in the league? What is special about Rangers? They don’t complain when decisions go in their favour?

— Colin 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 (@My_Lost_Lenore) December 18, 2024

Can we move on from this @ClydeSSB and discuss other errors like failure to send off Balogun or the pull back on CCV preventing him being able to stop Rangers 2nd goal or are you like the rest of the media just pandering to the team from Govan

— EddieO62 (@O62Eddie) December 18, 2024

We were told these things even themselves out by my count that’s another 22 penalty’s Celtic are due then we can call in even

— fuzzy 🐸 smell the glove (@fuzzywuzzy39) December 18, 2024

WILLIE COLLUM’S WHITEWASH