Bearsden Bear
Well-Known Member
Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you "not the Rangers way" - this horrible cliche, which 20 years ago, I was very vocal about how harmful it was to us as a Club, and how the support needed to wise up. Not everyone did, but then everyone suffered.
Now it is time for the Board to wise up. Actually, I am wrong, the time was a year ago, when there was already overwhelming evidence of systemic bias (perpetuated by the football authorities in Scotland) against our club through the statistics showing that our nearest rivals over many games required to commit twice as many fouls as we did in order to earn a yellow card.
Last year, we were aware of it, but the country was not, and the Club' silence in not highlighting these massive discrepancies publicly, set the scene for a 14-point swing in Celtic's favour by a remarkable series of "honest mistakes" by officials, which then allowed Celtic to win the title by 4 points, and be in the Champions League and then budget accordingly. Rangers FC - who, naively, seem to believe that it is "not the Rangers way" to complain about referees - were utterly negligent in not highlighting this a year ago.
This weekend's inter-city derbies surely added further fuel to the "double standards" fire, and so Rangers should be calling a major media conference, with tables showing the # of red/yellow cards per fouls committed, and just asking the question, 'Why?"!
Not all referees are Celtic fans - although this weekend's ones surely are - but many others are simply too scared to give a decision in our favour or against them. They need to be petrifed to give bad decisions against us, in the sure and certain knowledge that their actions are being closely monitored, and they will be held to account for any further fraudulent actions. The whole integrity of the Scottish game needs to be put under the brightest of spotlights, and we should be seen to be at the forefront of such a move.
Honest decisions, facilitated when necessary by VAR - can only benefit the game as a whole, which every football fan should want.
Now it is time for the Board to wise up. Actually, I am wrong, the time was a year ago, when there was already overwhelming evidence of systemic bias (perpetuated by the football authorities in Scotland) against our club through the statistics showing that our nearest rivals over many games required to commit twice as many fouls as we did in order to earn a yellow card.
Last year, we were aware of it, but the country was not, and the Club' silence in not highlighting these massive discrepancies publicly, set the scene for a 14-point swing in Celtic's favour by a remarkable series of "honest mistakes" by officials, which then allowed Celtic to win the title by 4 points, and be in the Champions League and then budget accordingly. Rangers FC - who, naively, seem to believe that it is "not the Rangers way" to complain about referees - were utterly negligent in not highlighting this a year ago.
This weekend's inter-city derbies surely added further fuel to the "double standards" fire, and so Rangers should be calling a major media conference, with tables showing the # of red/yellow cards per fouls committed, and just asking the question, 'Why?"!
Not all referees are Celtic fans - although this weekend's ones surely are - but many others are simply too scared to give a decision in our favour or against them. They need to be petrifed to give bad decisions against us, in the sure and certain knowledge that their actions are being closely monitored, and they will be held to account for any further fraudulent actions. The whole integrity of the Scottish game needs to be put under the brightest of spotlights, and we should be seen to be at the forefront of such a move.
Honest decisions, facilitated when necessary by VAR - can only benefit the game as a whole, which every football fan should want.