After the Beaton call is it time for Ian Bankier to speak out about his deep concerns over referees?

Back in November Ian Bankier told Celtic shareholders that the club had deep concerns about Scottish referees. 

It wasn’t something that the club chairman volunteered. I had a large number of questions to ask but the tone of the first one alarmed Bankier who was keen to move on, asked quickly about issues involving Bobby Madden and Nick Walsh he reluctantly mentioned deep concern. The invited media picked up on that comment and turned it into back pages. 

Most of the issues that concern Celtic fans are contentious, depending on the interpretation of the rules. Such as when Chris Kane pushes and kicks at a grounded Cameron Carter-Vickers and picks up a yellow from Walsh alongwith the Celtic defender. 

Last night at Tannadice John Beaton entered very different territory. When a pundit like Stephen Craigan knows the rules better than the match referee there is a very serious problem. 

So serious that Bankier will publicly raise it with the SFA? 

Last night was Beaton’s 10th match since 26 January when he took charge of Hearts v Celtic at Tannadice. For a part-time official a match every five days is a lot in-between the demands of his day job. This month Beaton has already refereed four matches. 

At Ibrox on March 5 Jim Goodwin was highly critical of a decision in the lead up to the goal that defeated his side. 

In December Crawford Allan quickly made an appearance on Radio Scotland to discuss a goal scored by Kyogo Furuhashi. If the head of SFA refereeing doesn’t want to explain Beaton’s decision last night over a disallowed goal then perhaps it is time for Bankier to speak out about his deep concerns. 

CLICK HERE for John Beaton’s matches this season.