Once again Alan Muir showed that he doesn´t have the ability and judgement to be anywhere near refereeing in the top flight of Scottish football.
Yesterday at Firhill he failed to punish James Penrice for a first half push on Jeremie Frimpong that sent the younger defender crashing to the deck. Both Muir and his assistant had a clear view of the incident but failed to award a penalty.
It went from bad to worse for the referee in the second half. In stoppage time Thistle sub Dario Zanatta had his shot parried by Fraser Forster, as he moved unconvincingly towards the rebound Muir saw his heels get clipped by Frimpong. No one else noticed it.
Missing an incident can be excused, seeing something that didn´t happen is a very different and much more serious issue.
Watch the second half handball missed by Muir (8 min 30 seconds)
Scott Brown chopped (50 seconds)
That Fir Park match came a few months after his most infamous honest mistake. Specially chosen as an additional assistant for the Scottish Cup semi-final between Celtic and Inverness Caley Thistle he was perfectly placed to see Josh Meekings handle a net-bound header from Leigh Griffiths.
Muir, match referee Steven McLean and assistant Frank Connor all missed the handball. A year later McLean was rewarded with the Scottish Cup Final, with Celtic muted since July 2012 it´s not impossible for Muir to be in line to take charge of this season´s Scottish Cup Final.