Chicks View on OF ref

[Gribz 966]

Truly dreadful suggestion - why not just let celtic run the game from top to bottom and have done with it?

 

Whats it got to do with letting Celtic run the game? The refs in Scotland are absolute pish, end of and the OF derby needs a strong ref who is going to get the decisions right. Look down south last weekend, Mark Clattenburg sent off a Man City player against Arsenal in the 4th minute without hesitation, a strong ref would have had Celtic down to 10 men in the 2nd minute last Sunday.

[craig 5,199]

Whats it got to do with letting Celtic run the game? The refs in Scotland are absolute pish, end of and the OF derby needs a strong ref who is going to get the decisions right. Look down south last weekend, Mark Clattenburg sent off a Man City player against Arsenal in the 4th minute without hesitation, a strong ref would have had Celtic down to 10 men in the 2nd minute last Sunday.

 

Because this is exactly what Celtic want.

 

The refs ARE pish but they are equally pish against all teams. It is nature. There are absolutely NO guarantees that a foreign (including English) ref would be any better. FFS, an English ref gave THREE yellow cards to the same player in the World Cup.

 

Refs the world over are subject to the same human traits. I agree our refs are pish, absolutely - but giving games to overseas refs is NOT the answer.

 

It suggests that Celtic win and get what they want. And what happens when a foreign ref gives us that Broadfoot penalty too - see if we can find some martian refs ?

[pete 2,499]

All Ref's from all countries make mistakes. The fact is that the game has moved on and has become too athletic and quick for one man. Football has moved on but unfortunately the ruling bodies haven't.

[Gribz 966]

Of course all refs can make mistakes, but having an outside Ref will be under a bit less pressure IMO and they wont be thinking "if i give this decision does that mean I'll get death threats" like the mhanks so often do after poor decisions. Im not thinking about what Celtic fans want, I couldnt give a toss, I just want Refs to get decisions right and want them to go home happily to their families rather than endure death threats.

 

Saying an outside Ref is no good sounds like we are scared they will come here and give Celtic all the decisions! I cant see why is it only Celtic fans who would want this, I remember listening to a caller after a match between Dundee Utd and Kilmarnock last season saying the same thing that outside refs should come until our own refs stop ruining matches.

 

Are we saying an outside ref is going to give them all decisions? FFS a strong ref would have sent Stokes off. We dont need a ref to win us the game, our football will do the talking but we do need a ref to be strong and fair.

[pete 2,499]

Of course all refs can make mistakes, but having an outside Ref will be under a bit less pressure IMO and they wont be thinking "if i give this decision does that mean I'll get death threats" like the mhanks so often do after poor decisions. Im not thinking about what Celtic fans want, I couldnt give a toss, I just want Refs to get decisions right and want them to go home happily to their families rather than endure death threats.

 

Saying an outside Ref is no good sounds like we are scared they will come here and give Celtic all the decisions! I cant see why is it only Celtic fans who would want this, I remember listening to a caller after a match between Dundee Utd and Kilmarnock last season saying the same thing that outside refs should come until our own refs stop ruining matches.

 

Are we saying an outside ref is going to give them all decisions? FFS a strong ref would have sent Stokes off. We dont need a ref to win us the game, our football will do the talking but we do need a ref to be strong and fair.

 

To be honest Gribz the only thing that using Foreign refs will change is that they are not living in such a threatening environment. As for quality of refereeing and accusations of favouritism nothing will change. Once the foreign referees have made a few mistakes as all referees do then the same old accusations will appear.

[alexscottislegend 2,435]

Get Jeff Winter out of retirement!

[maineflyer 0]

Whats it got to do with letting Celtic run the game? The refs in Scotland are absolute pish, end of and the OF derby needs a strong ref who is going to get the decisions right. Look down south last weekend, Mark Clattenburg sent off a Man City player against Arsenal in the 4th minute without hesitation, a strong ref would have had Celtic down to 10 men in the 2nd minute last Sunday.

 

Since Celtic are the only ones asking for foreign referees, I'd have thought it was glaringly obvious what it has to do with them running the game. What could be more fundamental in terms of a national Association than its ability to legislate and control its own game? Take that away and, effectively, you have no Scottish game to haggle over. "End of".

 

The fact is that if you would stop swallowing the Celtic party line, endlessly regurgitated in our (their) media, then you might just see that our referees are no more "pish" than those in other countries. Also, that the referees today make no more or fewer mistakes that has ever been the case. If you want some kind of sanitized affair where every decision is either black or white then you're in the wrong sport ... try chess?

 

Football isn't about getting every decision right, it's about trying to do so and taking every decision for the best of reasons. Neither is it about using every divergent view of refereeing decisions as an excuse for the sort of juvenile whining and petulance being expressed by the Celtic management and supporters. Why you think we should advocate the same behaviour or outcomes is beyond my understanding.

 

You might even want to consider what kind of above-average integrity it takes to be a referee in the face of this polarized asylum and parties like Celtic who have absolutely no interest in the fairness implied by their quest for foreign referees, only in their own ascendancy at whatever cost.

 

Your suggestion was truly dreadful because, in every sense, it pandered to the Celtic view of the world ... that you enhance your own position by decrying everything and everyone else in the game until, by guile or luck, you get your own way. If you can't see that then you're as bad as they are and deserve all the criticism coming your way.

Edited October 28, 2010 by maineflyer

[Totti 0]

Our refs are worse than the big leagues though.

[calscot 0]

There is no evidence that referees are worse today than in the past, there is just far more scrutiny with multiple cameras, slow motion, freeze frame and other modern technology along with the media changing from respectful reporting to a position of obsessing with highlighting and sensationalising every key decision as a new form of entertainment and way to engage a bigger audience.

 

There is plenty of evidence that refereeing is a far more difficult job than it used to be with a myriad of new rules and edicts, a much faster game with fitter, faster players, no pass backs and multiple balls to get the playing going immediately, combined with a far more cynical attitude by players with absolutely no sportsmanship or integrity. It's incredible that the club with the least integrity from fan to player to manager to chairman has the gall to question that of the humble referee who is trying his best to do what is now an impossible job.

 

It's easy to focus on single decisions with a myriad of slow motion replays from a multitude of angles but that is not even close to how a referee views a game - literally or figuratively. He has one pair of eyes and has to see the game at full speed, from one angle and in full flow, without knowing when or what the incidents will be. He also has to use psychology in his decisions to control a game with 22 competitive men who usually cannot control themselves or their emotions and who will -probably cheat or attempt to hurt the opposition at every opportunity.

 

Sometimes a decision for a booking, sending off or abstaining from a card at all can be based on the game as a whole, and what reaction it will bring from the players to calm the match down and make them play more like the professional sportsmen they purport to be. Looking at such a decision in isolation is like taking someone's words out of context.

 

If referees are "shite" then we are all shite. Who has not been convinced about an incident when watching live and then changed your mind when you see the replay or stop motion? Who has missed an incident in the game completely because you were watching the ball? The foul on Papac by Stokes for example? The main cameraman missed it...

 

The referee has to see everything that is happening - including right after he has to duck to avoid being hit by the ball. Sometimes things look different at full speed or from different angles and the referee has to make a decision instantly, first time. It's an incredibly difficult thing to do and I very much doubt the likes of Neil Lennon, Charlie Nicolas or anyone in the studio or press box could do a job which stands up to a similar technological scrutiny by a top referee.

 

Even with the technology, opinions are divided and many of these "wrong" decisions are not clear cut. I still think it was a penalty for Broadfoot and see them given all the time - and softer ones have been given to Celtic. Seen at full speed and only once, there is no reason why a ref wouldn't give it, and to say he was incompetent is completely disingenuous. However, what has happened is that Celtic and their lackeys in the press have asserted adamantly and often enough that its reputation as a mistake is now taken for granted.

 

The difference in the past is that the referees decision was final and controversial decisions just stimulated debate. It is a crime to judge a referee by using technology he has no access to - it's like lambasting someone for not seeing things perfectly from a distance when you are using a camera with a massive zoom lens. The only way to balance this up is to give the referees the same tools that are being used to judge their competence.

[juffery 0]

Living in a different country didn't stop Anders Frisk from being forced into retirement by death threats from Chelsea fans. And being a top official from a top league didn't stop Howard Webb from bottling or calling decisions wrong in the sports biggest game. Referees are human and have to give decisions in seconds, it stands to reason they'll get things wrong, it makes no odds what country they are from. Rather than focusing on bringing in super-refs from whichever country they're bred in, the SFA and SPL should be looking how these guys are treated by some of their members.

 

If they hounded Stokes, for example, fir that tackle on Super Sasa the papers would be full of stories if witch hunts and of how players are only human.

 

Surprisingly, after despising him as a player, I was fairly impressed with Lennon the manager at the outset - he had a passion for his team, he appeared to have a vision for them which I could respect. Now, with the first little sign of pressure, the facade is gone and left is a repugnant little man without an iota of respect for anyone and not one shred of dignity. I should never have been fooled, he is after all 'Sellick-Minded'