Stuart McCall believes that Sportscene is doing the legwork for the SFA’s Compliance Officer.
Motherwell striker Michael Higden looks like being ‘offered’ a one match suspension for a gesture made at the Motherwell fans after he scored against Dundee United on Saturday.
The incident was debated on Sportscene between Rob McLean and Barry Robson with McCall claiming that the BBC programme is setting the agenda.
“Is there a need for a compliance officer or is it whoever edits Sportscene? Is it trial by Sportscene?” McCall asked in the Daily Record
“Is there a need for a compliance officer or is it whoever edits Sportscene? Is it trial by Sportscene?
“Are you telling me the compliance officer watches all six games in their entirety to look for things?
“If you have an editor who supports Rangers, Celtic or Aberdeen, do you think he’s going to put in incidents such as the Griffiths one (from his team)?
“Will we appeal any ban for Michael? 100 per cent, yes. For Higdon’s incident to be compared with the Griffiths one made me fall off my chair.
“It wasn’t a, ‘Get it up you’ gesture. It was probably directed at me because of what I said at half-time.
“But I can guarantee one million per cent the half-hearted gesture he made wasn’t made at the supporters. I know that for a fact.”
Serial offender Leigh Griffiths is likely to face a third charge from the SFA after the cameras picked up him making a gesture to his own supporters during St Johnstone’s 3-2 win at Hibs on Saturday.
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It’s a shame then that both the Higdon and Griffiths incidents were common knowledge on Saturday evening – 24 hours before Sportscene was broadcast. If anything, Sportscene would have been doing us a disservice had they not then shown the incidents and discussed them.
Whether you agree with the incidents being worthy of punishment is another question entirely. Personally, I never have. The players consistently get abuse from the stands and while scoring goals is the best GIRUY they could do, I can understand why they might feel the need for more. But then I’m not “precious” like some fans can be.
Agree with you abt the abuse m8. I’ve shouted some terrible things at players and refs over the years (still do sometimes) so if one was to turn round and say something or gesture back, I couldn’t complaint about it.
he has a point TBH..too many times, the director of either sky or bbc can choose to highlight a particular incident if it suits their own agenda..many times incidents like this have been ignored or played down..for me, TV companies have far too much influence over contentious issues
Well!!!!!!!!!!!!! Who would have thought it!!!! Stuart McCall a LIAR!!!! WOW. I am shocked!
McCall is entitled to his opinion. However, let’s wait and see if he changes it whenever it suits him.
The issue isn’t whose offence was worst nor whether the mainstream media influence disciplinary panels. The real issue I have is the damning indictment of a ‘Protestant’ or non-denominational education. If he’d gone to a good Catholic school, he would have had the proverbial crap beaten out of him for ridiculous statements like “I can guarantee one million per cent the half-hearted gesture he made wasn’t made at the supporters”.
Surely a good standard of education would have taught him that you can only get up to 100%. No more.
I’m glad I went to a Catholic school.
Bottom line is McCall is correct. The question he is asking is no different to the one posed by Peter Lawell a couple of years back when he wanted more transparency in this process. We watched Glen Loovens and Scott MacDonald have their tackles put to the disciplinary panel and then stood back and watched Lafferty and Weir get away with shocking challenges at Ibrox. Given Loovens was relatively cute and Lafferty and Weir were blatant and one was highlighted on TV and two ignored so we should be backing McCall here not slagging him off.
McCall is correct, get a right Currant or whoever as the producer of one of these shows who has editorial power then something can be buried or exposed. Its exactly what Lawell was querying when he met with the SFA.
Can McCall guarantee me 100% his team will try and score at least 1 goal in they’re next 5 goal pumping against Rearangers.
The BBC showed a clip of Griffiths sticking the finger up to the supporters on Saturday past, pictures that were magnified significantly just so you could see it. I’m not defending Griffiths, he’s clearly stupid, but those pictures lead to a 2 match ban and more importantly Hibs lose possibly their most effective forward for the visit to Ibrox on Saturday. If those images are not shown then he plays, simple, job done Sportscene producers.