Following Celtic’s match against Hearts at Tynecastle, manager Brendan Rodgers made no untrue comments regarding Scottish refereeing or the usage of VAR.
Both the technology’s implementation and the way the rules have been interpreted have been incredibly inconsistent and somewhat disorganised.
Over the past few seasons, managers, commentators, and fans from all over the nation have voiced their opinions, and some of the criticism has been quite harsh.
Although Rodgers was candid in his criticism of Don Robertson and John Beaton, naming them and implying that their officiating was incompetent, why did the Scottish FA only discipline the Celtic manager?
As we previously discussed, during Thursday’s hearing at Hampden, Celtic’s legal team cited numerous instances of other Scottish Premiership managers making similar criticisms of refereeing; these comments were not subsequently noted by the SFA’s compliance officer.
Chris Sutton on the ban of Brendan Rodgers
Sutton has now questioned the SFA’s position, saying today [Daily Record, 30/03 print edition]: “We all knew he was in trouble and a ban would be inevitable under the rules as soon as he said the word ‘incompetence’ and named VAR official John Beaton along with Don Robertson. However, I’m curious as to why this season, no other manager has taken the fallout.
“Almost all of them have had negative things to say about referees or VAR. Strong work has been done by Derek McInnes, Steven Naismith, Stuart Kettlewell, and Philippe Clement, who recently went big. After most games, Neil Warnock, who had only been here for a few weeks, complained about it.
“None of those men found themselves on the dock. You can’t openly state that officials lack competence, but it seems acceptable to imply it. Rodgers just expressed what they, and the majority of us, are all thinking. If what you say is true, you cannot file a defamation lawsuit in court.
However, the SFA legal system doesn’t appear to operate in that manner. You cannot even claim that the officials were incompetent. Rodgers will receive his slap on the wrist, but I hope the authorities take notice and step up for the benefit of all.
Brendan Rodgers correctly called out the refereeing standards
For the benefit of Scottish football, Rodgers reaffirmed yesterday that he hopes to improve standards in the Hampden department’s refereeing department by bringing up recent issues.
Following Crawford Allan’s resignation as head of the refereeing department at the end of the season, the Scottish FA has admitted that there have been problems and will review the situation.
Rodgers’ one-match touchline ban is a worthwhile sacrifice for Celtic in order to maintain public awareness of these problems. If the truth wasn’t being said, that would be one thing, but whether or not the Bhoys boss followed the rules, everything he said about this was accurate.
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