Kevin Clancy can’t even count on the old boys network to excuse his Hampden howler.
When he pointed to the spot after Martin Boyle hit the deck the referee could normally count on support from former officials in the media.
Kenny Clark, Stuart Dougal and Willie Young are normally on speed dial to justify the most outrageous decisions but after yesterday’s penalty decision it seems that support for Clancy is non existent.
A decade ago Steve Conroy was one of the rising stars on the refereeing circuit but a nightmare performance in his first Celtic v Rangers game brought things to a halt.
Kyle Lafferty’s brutal lunge at Andreas Hinkel should have brought a straight red card rather than yellow while Marco Fortune had a goal disallowed for no obvious reason.
Looking back at Clancy’s performance Conroy told the Daily Record: “The key talking point at Hampden was whether Hibs should have been awarded a penalty when Celtic ’s Dedryck Boyata challenged Hibs sub Martin Boyle.
“But it didn’t look like he was the one who had made the decision, given the three-second delay before he pointed to the spot. I assume it was awarded on the advice of his stand-side assistant Frankie Connor over their intercom.
“Kevin was never going to give it without the call from his assistant. We all saw the replay. Boyata made a super tackle and won the ball.
“Sometimes you just need to admit you’re wrong. It’s a pity that it’s a decision that has taken the shine of Clancy’s display.
“He was in control from start to finish. It was tie played in a great spirit. It had an edge but nobody stepped over the line.”
Yesterday’s fourth official, Craig Thomson will be in charge of Celtic’s SPFL match at Aberdeen on Wednesday night.