With perfect timing the double standards of the SFA has been endorsed with the appointment of John Beaton for Sunday’s Glasgow derby.
The last time that the Lanarkshire official was in charge of this fixture he created uproar among Celtic supporters. Physical attacks by Alfredo Morelos on Scott Brown, Ryan Christie and Tony Ralston went unpunished, the Colombian wasn’t spoken to or booked never mind the red card that each attack warranted.
When the Compliance Officer decided not to take any action Celtic came out with a statement, typically there was no follow up as the issue was allowed to blow over similar to the statement on Steven McLean after the Inverness Caley Thistle Scottish Cup semi-final in 2015.
Rolling the clock forward 12 months Ryan Christie was cited by the Compliance Officer after the December 2019 derby match. During Celtic’s appeal against a two match suspension details emerged about the Morelos case from 2018.
The Daily Record reported:
Celtic’s hierarchy is particularly incensed Morelos escaped retrospective punishment despite grabbing a handful of Christie’s crown jewels during that match in an almost identical incident to the one which now forces their talisman onto the sidelines.
A source said: “It’s the inconsistency in the way the disciplinary procedure is handled which people find so difficult to understand.
“The club has a long list of incidents from recent derby games which went unpunished. Scott Brown was booted in the groin and Anthony Ralston had stud marks on his leg after being stamped on. There was also an incident between Morelos and Christie which was remarkably similar to the one for which Ryan has now been banned. But nothing happened.
“The official line from the SFA is that the referee saw all of those incidents at the time while Kevin Clancy didn’t see what happened between Christie and Morelos which is why it has been dealt with retrospectively.
“But when supporters see these kind of inconsistencies it’s no wonder they struggle to understand what’s going on.”
John Beaton gets the game on Sunday.
His decisions at a Rangers v Celtic game at Ibrox have already been proven 2b wrong.
Even worse was that the retro bans against Christie & McNulty were not applied to Beaton’s decisions.First 4 Beaton at Ibrox.
Last 2 McNulty & Christie. pic.twitter.com/GXyaDHip1o— Lint (@Zeshankenzo) March 10, 2020
Although Celtic fans are well used to inconsistencies from the SFA, news that Beaton had viewed three different player attacks and taken no action came as a shock.
With that view of football, players shouldn’t be put at risk in matches refereed by Beaton. Turning logic on its head the SFA have put him in charge of Sunday’s match at Ibrox.
While Morelos escaped punishment 15 months ago Marc McNulty was on the wrong end of the Compliance Officer following last week’s Edinburgh derby.
In full view of Kevin Clancy he trod on the back of the grounded Sean Clare. Clancy opted to take no action but McNulty was given a two match suspension from the SFA.
As they continue to operate without accountability the credibility of the Scottish game plunges new depths.
Beaton witnessed and took no action on Morelos for three different player attacks. Clancy had an unobstructed view of Christie on Morelos and McNulty on Clare but was over-ruled by the Compliance Officer. Only in Scotland.
6 years ago the day beaton cheated us a win at ibrox @albionrovers @Ciaro67 @PedInnes7 @ScoChap1 @nparrygk pic.twitter.com/S5rOIdql5U
— Barry Russell (@Baz_Russell1888) March 9, 2020