John Beaton likely to escape the Willie Collum or Kevin Clancy treatment

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The Celtic Star

·17 December 2024

John Beaton likely to escape the Willie Collum or Kevin Clancy treatment

I was on the BBC website the morning following the League Cup Final to be met with the headline shown below. Firstly, if something is definite it cannot be gossip, which is defined as not being confirmed to be true…

Referee John Beaton during the Premier Sports Cup Final between Celtic and theRangers at Hampden on Sunday 15 December 2024. Photo Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star)

‘Rangers (sic) denied definite penalty – gossip’

I was on the BBC website the morning following the League Cup Final to be met with the above headline. Firstly, if something is definite it cannot be gossip, which is defined as not being confirmed to be true.

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The use of the word definite, springs from a post by an ex-referee, who described it as “100%” a penalty. No prizes for guessing which referee, it was none other than Bobby Madden. The man who spent his formative years watching, which is his euphemism for supporting, Rangers. Despite that he was allowed to referee games involving his own team and Celtic, including many Glasgow derbies. I can recall a few interesting refereeing decisions by him in his time. Not sure what he is doing now or why he should be on the BBC’s radar.

The penalty claim explained. Beaton had blown the whistle for the foul outside the box. Image from social media.

The statistics from the game are pretty damming yet I could not find any comments on them in the BBC or mainstream media. The Ibrox outfit committed 22 fouls and received eight yellow cards, that despite a great deal of leniency shown to them by Mr. Beaton. His idea of a foul is at best inconsistent and one of the linesman definitely should have gone to Specsavers. I’ve no idea which, if any, footballing allegiances these two gentlemen have disclosed to the SFA but I guess it wasn’t Celtic.

The men from Govan are exhibiting all the mentality of a wee team. Before the game, their manager bemoans the financial gap between the teams, their players try to kick us of the park (and were given free rein to do so) and, after the game, they moan about one decision which did not go their way, amongst the many that did. Not only that, they ask their friends in the media to spread the word. The BBC heard that message loud and clear.

Referee John Beaton before the Premier Sports Cup Final between Celtic and theRangers at Hampden on Sunday 15 December 2024. Photo Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star)

There is a bit of deja vu going on here. I recall there was a similar uproar about a penalty not given in a Glasgow derby last season, even though a clear foul had been committed by them just beforehand. On that occasion, they wrote to the SFA demanding, amongst other things, that Kevin Clancy never referee another of their games. The furore lead to Mr. Clancy and his wife receiving death threats. I haven’t fully researched this but I think they got their wish as indeed was the case with Willie Collum previously. To save face, the SFA did appoint Collum to referee a cup game at Ibrox against Ayr United.

Callum McGregor leads the Celtic celebrations with his players after lifting The Premier Sports Cup after the victory over theRangers at Hampden on 15 December 2024. Photo AJ for The Celtic Star

I understand a similar letter has been submitted to the SFA about Sunday’s game and the only controversial incident of that game, namely the “definite penalty”, as reported on or gossiped about by the BBC, take your pick. I suspect that unlike last time, there is not a request that Mr. Beaton never referees another of their games. They may be a wee team but they are not that daft. I also suspect there won’t be any death threats made against Mr. Beaton, although the chance of there being a drink for him behind the bar of the Crown Bar in Bellshill are now non existent at this moment in time. Maybe later John, when you start behaving yourself.

Celtic put us through the wringer on Sunday but it turned out to be a beautiful Sunday after all.

Christopher Wotherspoon

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