Ross County boss Hughes backs Rice’s slamming of referees – claiming last call to Hampden felt like Beadle prank

BlueMeanie

Well-Known Member


JOHN HUGHES has launched a blistering attack on refs — and claimed his last call to Hampden beaks felt like a Jeremy Beadle prank.
Ross County gaffer Yogi hit out days after Hamilton boss Brian Rice slammed officials and SFA referees’ chief Crawford Allan.

Both managers claim their teams have been on the wrong end of decisions.
Hughes even suggested many whistlers are Old Firm fans.
He said contacting Allan is so pointless he feels like he’s wandered into an episode of 1980s hit TV show Beadle’s About.
Yogi said: “When you phone up, what a phone call — you are waiting for Jeremy Beadle to jump out!

“I am serious, you are looking for Beadle to appear.
“You are on the phone asking, ‘Is this for real’?
“I have never been patronised so much in all my life.
“I’m 56. I have played the game and I have been brought up with my gut and my character.
“I know it and I’ve seen it with my own eyes and I am getting that on the phone, it is just embarrassing.
“Brian Rice had a rant and I have his back that’s for sure.”

Hughes repeated his call for full-time refs in the Premiership and wants experienced whistlers for the bottom-six run-in, as County fight for survival.
Willie Collum has been appointed for Saturday’s crucial drop-zone clash at Kilmarnock.
But the Staggies boss insists Scottish refereeing is filled with fans of Celtic and Rangers.
Hughes suspects those alleged Old Firm allegiances are why the SFA doesn’t publicise which clubs whistlers support.
In England, refs have to declare what team they follow and the situation is audited each season. But that doesn’t happen north of the border.

Hughes added: “I asked the question of a certain referee about his team.
“I was told we don’t ask our refs which team they support because half of them wouldn’t be able to referee Rangers and Celtic — that’s the reason why!
“Going full-time would help them, but one or two referees have had a personality bypass as there is no talking to them.
“They put that wee uniform on and they are running about out there. They should just calm down and take a notch off their jockstrap.
“Part of being a referee is about having a bit of banter, your people skills and the way you conduct yourself.”

Rice hit out at officials and Allan’s handling of complaints after two penalty controversies in the Scottish Cup defeat to St Mirren last weekend.
Hughes said: “I heard my mate Brian the other day after their game and I was laughing — but not at him.
“I stand by him. But try being the Ross County boss, Chipper!
“With the penalty against Hibs, you are having a laugh.
“The penalty against St Mirren, with the boy Greg Aitken, you are having a laugh. They were absolutely horrendous decisions.
“I was laughing at that because I know what you are going through, Brian. I feel your pain, but ours is WORSE than yours. We could be sitting with a few more points because I think we have had a couple of really shocking refereeing decisions.
“The one against Hibs was with John Beaton. We never get a penalty, but there have been plenty against us.

“Although I am laughing at it, I feel I am together with Brian. Everything he is saying, he is saying for me as well.
“Everything he says, I agree with. I agree small clubs get absolutely nothing.
“Somebody will say, ‘Here he goes, ranting and raving’, but I am not. The proof is in the pudding and I have just highlighted two incidents. I don’t know why those decisions were given by two experienced referees. You expect better from them.
“It is easy being a referee. Just referee what you see and that is simple.
“I haven’t spoken to Chipper about what happened, but he has my backing 100 per cent and a little bit more.”
Rice claimed refs’ chief Allan isn’t interested in speaking to smaller clubs and Hughes agrees, insisting they feel patronised when they make calls.
He added: “I agree with Brian when he says with Crawford Allan you are wasting your time. That is why I would never phone him again to be patronised. You are having a laugh.
“Chipper has my backing, but try being the Ross County manager with the stonewall penalties we don’t get, or the soft ones that are given against us.
“If he had given that penalty we had against Hibs in an Old Firm game, there would have been an outcry.

“Something has to be done about it and there has to be some accountability.”
Hughes has been a supporter of full-time refs for years. The County boss is glad the crucial game with Killie this weekend will be overseen by Collum.
And while he knows young refs have to learn their trade, he doesn’t agree with the notion that it’s OK for them to take charge of only the smaller clubs.
He said: “The managers have to get together. The refs try their best, but I think they need a hand.
“I want them to go full-time because that would help them.
“How can I be in a league of 12 and it gets split where you can referee that team down there, but you can’t referee that team up there? That is not equality, that is rules for one and different rules for others. We need to highlight that, you can’t get away with that. It shouldn’t be going on, we are in 2021.



“I am at the same table as Celtic and Rangers and I play to the same rules. But we are treated differently, that has to be exposed.
“You have to ask the reason why. That is discriminating against my club.
“We had a rookie referee a couple of weeks before we had John Beaton — and he was miles better than him.
“But we need experienced guys from now on in. I want the best, and Willie Collum’s up there with the best.”
 
The more calling out the better. Particularly by the bosses of the smaller clubs. Since football began there's going to be refs that lean to one side of the old firm or another. It's the way is is in Scotland with 2 huge clubs but you have to ask for parity on the park whether that's for Rangers or Cove Rangers.

I don't think the refs are corrupt, just hopeless and inconsistent.
 
"One or two referees have had a personality bypass as there is no talking to them. They put that wee uniform on and they are running about out there. They should just calm down and take a notch off their jockstrap. Part of being a referee is about having a bit of banter, your people skills and the way you conduct yourself.”
This sounds like a description of Beaton so no surprise to see him named later in the article
 
Saying it's just the small clubs that are on the wrong end of it is disingenuous though. Obviously he's the manager of a wee team so that's his perspective...but more often than not the referees are honking for us as well.
I'll wager his perspective was somewhat different in his playing days.

He does make some good points elsewhere though.
 


JOHN HUGHES has launched a blistering attack on refs — and claimed his last call to Hampden beaks felt like a Jeremy Beadle prank.
Ross County gaffer Yogi hit out days after Hamilton boss Brian Rice slammed officials and SFA referees’ chief Crawford Allan.

Both managers claim their teams have been on the wrong end of decisions.
Hughes even suggested many whistlers are Old Firm fans.
He said contacting Allan is so pointless he feels like he’s wandered into an episode of 1980s hit TV show Beadle’s About.
Yogi said: “When you phone up, what a phone call — you are waiting for Jeremy Beadle to jump out!

“I am serious, you are looking for Beadle to appear.
“You are on the phone asking, ‘Is this for real’?
“I have never been patronised so much in all my life.
“I’m 56. I have played the game and I have been brought up with my gut and my character.
“I know it and I’ve seen it with my own eyes and I am getting that on the phone, it is just embarrassing.
“Brian Rice had a rant and I have his back that’s for sure.”

Hughes repeated his call for full-time refs in the Premiership and wants experienced whistlers for the bottom-six run-in, as County fight for survival.
Willie Collum has been appointed for Saturday’s crucial drop-zone clash at Kilmarnock.
But the Staggies boss insists Scottish refereeing is filled with fans of Celtic and Rangers.
Hughes suspects those alleged Old Firm allegiances are why the SFA doesn’t publicise which clubs whistlers support.
In England, refs have to declare what team they follow and the situation is audited each season. But that doesn’t happen north of the border.

Hughes added: “I asked the question of a certain referee about his team.
“I was told we don’t ask our refs which team they support because half of them wouldn’t be able to referee Rangers and Celtic — that’s the reason why!
“Going full-time would help them, but one or two referees have had a personality bypass as there is no talking to them.
“They put that wee uniform on and they are running about out there. They should just calm down and take a notch off their jockstrap.
“Part of being a referee is about having a bit of banter, your people skills and the way you conduct yourself.”

Rice hit out at officials and Allan’s handling of complaints after two penalty controversies in the Scottish Cup defeat to St Mirren last weekend.
Hughes said: “I heard my mate Brian the other day after their game and I was laughing — but not at him.
“I stand by him. But try being the Ross County boss, Chipper!
“With the penalty against Hibs, you are having a laugh.
“The penalty against St Mirren, with the boy Greg Aitken, you are having a laugh. They were absolutely horrendous decisions.
“I was laughing at that because I know what you are going through, Brian. I feel your pain, but ours is WORSE than yours. We could be sitting with a few more points because I think we have had a couple of really shocking refereeing decisions.
“The one against Hibs was with John Beaton. We never get a penalty, but there have been plenty against us.

“Although I am laughing at it, I feel I am together with Brian. Everything he is saying, he is saying for me as well.
“Everything he says, I agree with. I agree small clubs get absolutely nothing.
“Somebody will say, ‘Here he goes, ranting and raving’, but I am not. The proof is in the pudding and I have just highlighted two incidents. I don’t know why those decisions were given by two experienced referees. You expect better from them.
“It is easy being a referee. Just referee what you see and that is simple.
“I haven’t spoken to Chipper about what happened, but he has my backing 100 per cent and a little bit more.”
Rice claimed refs’ chief Allan isn’t interested in speaking to smaller clubs and Hughes agrees, insisting they feel patronised when they make calls.
He added: “I agree with Brian when he says with Crawford Allan you are wasting your time. That is why I would never phone him again to be patronised. You are having a laugh.
“Chipper has my backing, but try being the Ross County manager with the stonewall penalties we don’t get, or the soft ones that are given against us.
“If he had given that penalty we had against Hibs in an Old Firm game, there would have been an outcry.

“Something has to be done about it and there has to be some accountability.”
Hughes has been a supporter of full-time refs for years. The County boss is glad the crucial game with Killie this weekend will be overseen by Collum.
And while he knows young refs have to learn their trade, he doesn’t agree with the notion that it’s OK for them to take charge of only the smaller clubs.
He said: “The managers have to get together. The refs try their best, but I think they need a hand.
“I want them to go full-time because that would help them.
“How can I be in a league of 12 and it gets split where you can referee that team down there, but you can’t referee that team up there? That is not equality, that is rules for one and different rules for others. We need to highlight that, you can’t get away with that. It shouldn’t be going on, we are in 2021.



“I am at the same table as Celtic and Rangers and I play to the same rules. But we are treated differently, that has to be exposed.
“You have to ask the reason why. That is discriminating against my club.
“We had a rookie referee a couple of weeks before we had John Beaton — and he was miles better than him.
“But we need experienced guys from now on in. I want the best, and Willie Collum’s up there with the best.”
Now that is funny . Very .

that guy is an utter knob imo lol sounds like a complete ramble

ah well
 
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Saying it's just the small clubs that are on the wrong end of it is disingenuous though. Obviously he's the manager of a wee team so that's his perspective...but more often than not the referees are honking for us as well.
Ye shot himself in all three of his feet there didn’t he . Wants the top rated refs like the one he said was garbage , Beaton , who was bettered by some rookie . And he rates Collum lol .

big John is so streetwise he supposedly hired Jim mccafferty for Falkirk .
 
I'm obviously missing the point somewhere reading that. I just don't understand the references to who the ref supports when for example it's RC v Hibs. If he's implying Beaton supports Hibs then fair enough, say so. But that's not what he's saying by throwing in references to us and them.

The more managers drawing attention to poor officiating, other than our manager perhaps, it's for the best. Just call it what it is, poor quality reffing and poor quality administrative leadership.
 
Ask your clubs to vote this cabal out. Until then you are shouting in a void.
I agree. Standards of everything in Scotland have been allowed to deteriorate because the only important thing for over a decade has been what one teams people want. They’ve put people in place for what they can do for celtc, not what they can do for the game so everything else has gone to shit. I hope all these things are making people see that we have to have change for the good of Scottish football.
 
John , did you get hit on the head with a coconut....there's no such thing as a Rangers supporting referee ffs.
 
Agree with most of it except that the terrible quality of ref's only affects the smaller clubs.. it has cost us a cup final in recent history also the old firm get more tv time so get every incident severely scrutinised while the rest of the teams don't get much retrospective action because nobody is that bothered about the clubber clubs
 
I'm obviously missing the point somewhere reading that. I just don't understand the references to who the ref supports when for example it's RC v Hibs. If he's implying Beaton supports Hibs then fair enough, say so. But that's not what he's saying by throwing in references to us and them.

The more managers drawing attention to poor officiating, other than our manager perhaps, it's for the best. Just call it what it is, poor quality reffing and poor quality administrative leadership.


His comment on referees supporting either half of the OF was a sidebar in highlighting the inadequacies of the officiating system in general, and feeds into his main point - he wanted to know the allegiance of a certain referee but was told allegiances are not revealed at risk of upsetting either half of the OF because they all (apparently) support either us or them. He's saying this as evidence to support his claim that the smaller teams are seen as lesser and aren't taken seriously.

FWIW, whether anyone agrees with the finer details of the argument or not, I think the more people calling out this shit show the better
 
Aye, take a notch off your jockstrap ref o_O

I agree with him that refs should declare what teams they support.
 
If you were in a decent job you'd be mental to give it up to be a full time ref unless the pay was incredible, which Scotland can't afford
Refereeing is an incredibly well paying hobby at the moment. probably better paid than most pro players in the Scottish Leagues. And that's with the comfort blanket of a full time proper job
Why would you want to go full time and lose any career path and all the time be at the mercy of fans, papers, managers etc criticising your performance and demanding you be sacked.
 
They just had to vote the right way last season and things could have changed.
That's correct but they want the swamp drained of just old firm favouring refs, yet the pri@ks in control that have a hatred of Rangers are allowed to do their worst.
You can't have it just stopping at referees how about starting with McLennan, Mackenzie, and Doncaster at the SPFL The Putrid 3.
 
That's correct but they want the swamp drained of just old firm favouring refs, yet the pri@ks in control that have a hatred of Rangers are allowed to do their worst.
You can't have it just stopping at referees how about starting with McLennan, Mackenzie, and Doncaster at the SPFL The Putrid 3.
If you look into any company and if the top management are being unprofessional you can guarantee it’ll trickle down through to the staff and workers.
The refs are as bad as their bosses
Vote them out
 
They just had to vote the right way last season and things could have changed.
This is exactly the point. Ross County have become an Establishment team. Roy has supported Lawell and bought into the cabal. Had County been vocal on the need for change things might have been different.

Have to look at refs here. They stuck their neck out re being constantly criticised by one team in particular. That was the chance to sort and improve this issue. They got no support at all. That is why we have the current situation where one team calls the shots.

You get the governance you vote for. All relates back to who runs our game. If County want change you have to stand up for change.
 
So that’s 2 rants by SPL managers ripping the games refs to shreds. Whether they are right or wrong il be interested to see what happens to them.

In comparison Gerrard had to answer a charge from the compliance officer with the single sentence “I would like to see what the referee would do had that been Morelos”

obviously it got thrown out in the end but even if you compare his argument with the ref at the end of the game the other week his words were hardly as scathing as the 2 interviews given by Hughes and Rice.

if they want consistency like we do then both should be facing a ban of some sort
 
I want to know more about what happens when you call the SFA, sounds damning. He's spot on about the personality bypass, the incompetency added to the ego trip is one hell of a mix especially when you add hating Rangers on top. Anti Rangers and small clubs being overlooked is a force we can unite with
Utterly bizarre then for a decent% of your managers laughing at the national association, be quite happy for Gerrard to be asked for his thoughts. As I'm sure he'll again put his weight behind how shit they are and back Rice/Hughes. Get them professional, get them VAR and get 90% of them so far too %^*&
 
I agree when he says the refs job is easy, you just give what you see. Unfortunately a lot of refs give what they want to see or are scared to upset people by giving decisions.
 
I want to know more about what happens when you call the SFA, sounds damning. He's spot on about the personality bypass, the incompetency added to the ego trip is one hell of a mix especially when you add hating Rangers on top. Anti Rangers and small clubs being overlooked is a force we can unite with
Utterly bizarre then for a decent% of your managers laughing at the national association, be quite happy for Gerrard to be asked for his thoughts. As I'm sure he'll again put his weight behind how shit they are and back Rice/Hughes. Get them professional, get them VAR and get 90% of them so far too %^*&
Gerrard would be charged if he did. There irony in rice and Hughes comments, asking to be treated the same and yet won’t face any bans for their comments the same way Gerrard would
 
The more calling out the better. Particularly by the bosses of the smaller clubs. Since football began there's going to be refs that lean to one side of the old firm or another. It's the way is is in Scotland with 2 huge clubs but you have to ask for parity on the park whether that's for Rangers or Cove Rangers.

I don't think the refs are corrupt, just hopeless and inconsistent.
In my reply to your last sentence. Clancy.
 
The way he has addressed these points has made sure it is getting full publicity for them.

The way he sounds at times belies his intelligence - he is a real football man and far from daft.
I never suggested for one minute that he was.
A real football man who simply calls a spade a fucking shovel!
 
Await the disciplinary code to be applied here as no-one is allowed free speech to {even if it's 100% correctly} criticize the referees or beaks in Scottish football.
 
"
but one or two referees have had a personality bypass as there is no talking to them.
“They put that wee uniform on and they are running about out there. They should just calm down and take a notch off their jockstrap."

From playing football i fully agree with this,.some absolute idiots on a power trip when they kit that kit on
 
I live down south and few of the boys I work with watch the spl on sky,even they say they can’t believe what certain clubs and players get away with. One even commented if “all referees support sellik up their”!!
The standard and bias, unconscious of conscious it’s apparent. This comes from the very top, we’re seen as not the same as them so we are treated worse. The whole system needs ripped up and the bigots at the top removed, for the good of the game. Also if we had var camellia wouldn’t win another trophy
 
I never suggested for one minute that he was.
A real football man who simply calls a spade a fucking shovel!

I wasn't suggesting you did AV - I was agreeing with you that he made some decent points (he certainly makes sure he is 'heard').
 
Not wanting to defend the refs but the pressure the media put on them doesnt help. They have the power to force certain situations to be scrutinised to the point where further action gets taking and other situations to be ignored, the refs will rule with that in mind.
We need refs that are strong enough to just do what’s asked of them and a govern body that also doesn’t succumb to a biased media.
 
So I’m a ref I’m asked what team I support eh east fife ok you can have the next old firm great we win 5-0 ... if this is how our game is run we are done.
 
If refs have to declare their team and can’t ref those matches, who will ref the tims games? Won’t be any left.
 
The standard of referees is really bad, all teams have had bad decisions against them. Some sort of VAR would help but not as we see it in England.
 
We’ve got professional players, earning thousands of pounds every week, being reffed by (effectively) part time amateurs.

What other industry would that happen in?
 
Gave up after the 2nd paragraph - a total rant which most footballing people
know already, the poor standard of our referees at all levels.

I suppose Hughes sermon detracts from his main problem County are rank bad
and look destined for one of the two bottom places.
 
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