Forty-eight hours after Celtic asked for John Beaton’s match report from Ibrox to be published and requested a meeting with Ian Maxwell and John Fleming old media outlets are off and running in dozens of different directions. Some might think that it is an orchestrated campaign.
At the heart of the matter is the need to deflect attention away from the performance of the match referee in the Glasgow derby. There is plenty of evidence to suggest that Beaton has a past record of questionable decisions but Celtic have kept their request specific.
Beaton’s choice of pub in Bellshill instantly compromises him as does his handling of the new Ibrox club in Scottish Cup ties against Albion Rovers and Hamilton Accies. His displays in two visits of Celtic to Tynecastle have been questionable.
Tom.. who won’t see this tweet because he blocks anyone who doesn’t bow down to his opinion.
Why has a referee’s questionable decisions become a stick to hit Celtic regarding releasing (Beaton) and not releasing (var) statements. https://t.co/cdmxNBp2S8
— RhebelRhebel (@RhebelRhebel) January 6, 2019
Within 24 hours of the Celtic statement we had the favoured ‘calls in the cops’ story quickly followed by a statement from SF chief Ian Maxwell accompanied by another from a refereeing group.
What could they possibly be concerned with about the publication of referee match reports- it will let their customers gain a greater understanding of how matches are covered.
No one is asking for Beaton to make an appearance in front of Sky Sports or even to be questioned.
All that is required is for the match report to be published within 24 hours of a match, if incidents have been left out then the SFA Compliance Officer can step in and administer justice.
What is the problem with that or does the SFA have something that they wish to keep secret from the supporters that fund their lifestyle?