Today from a match that they have won Celtic have the opportunity to ‘press for the highest standards in relation to the VAR process in Scottish football’ which is apparently something that they continue to press despite the lack of any evidence.
For example, in the game you are talking about, at Tynecastle, the one that Brendan Rodgers was hauled in front of the disciplinary board for, I am told that the VAR that day got full marks for his decisions.
As soon as the SFA announced that David Dickinson would referee the match with Andrew Dallas on VAR duty the outcome of the fixture was almost guaranteed.
There has been rumours that the audio between Beaton and Robertson has been deleted, there will be fans that believe that version until they get to hear it for themselves, the silence on the issue is telling.
Callum McGregor has been out on the field, but we’re not risking him in this game. He should hopefully rejoin training next week.
Very little detail has emerged from yesterday’s hearing, it isn’t known if the audio between the two officials was played and the reasoning for one match being suspended.
Any expectations of Celtic finally questioning the goings on at the SFA were ended by the clearly disappointed statement, the reaction from fans was 90% hostile with only a few claiming that the club had won the case and laid down a marker on the SFA.
If we truly believe the referees to be incompetent then we should not be accepting this decision. It should be appealed. The rule that you cannot challenge the competence of officials is perverse and should be changed.
It seems to have escaped them that the decision making of two leading referees contributed greatly to Celtic losing three vital SPFL points with Don Robertson and John Beaton given a free pass for their performances.
Discussions have been on-going between the clubs but now, 10 days before the match takes place Celtic have decided not to put the safety of their fans at risk at Ibrox.