Fairly often in the build up to a cup final you’ll get a nice soft, friendly profile piece on the match referee.
Normally an accountant or a lawyer, happily married with two kids and a dedicated professional, working hard on his fitness and of course utterly neutral on football matters.
A few interesting tales about foreign trips, the match in Barcelona or Milan, alternatively that early match in the Ayrshire Juniors when the referee had to get smuggled out, away from the baying mob in the social club.
When Willie Collum was put in charge of his first Glasgow derby virtually every newspaper carried the story of the RE teacher from Cardinal Newman School in Bellshill.
Nick Walsh took charge of his first Glasgow derby in April 2021 without any comment, last season he continued his climb through the ranks.
On Sunday he will take charge of the two city clubs in a cup final, in the third derby of the season with Walsh in charge for the second time. Sunday will be his seventh match of the season involving the Ibrox club and his sixth Celtic match.
It seems that there is some sort of embargo on mentioning that Walsh is a PE teacher, at Boclair Academy in Bearsden, the partner school where the Murray Park starlets get on with their academic stuff.
? The Elite Performance School at Boclair Academy has been a massive initiative for the club. Young players now experience approximately 18 hours of football contact time every week, improving the quality of players we can produce. pic.twitter.com/Ql9FahW98Q
— Rangers B & Academy (@RFC_Youth) June 5, 2018
Announcing the partnership in June 2016 East Dunbartonshire Council reported:
Rangers Head of Academy, Craig Mulholland, commented: “We are delighted to be taking the next critical step towards achieving our Academy ambitions and putting us in line with the top European clubs who all operate a model similar to this.
“Getting this project off the ground has involved a lot of hard work by a team of talented staff and will help us produce a much higher quality and different type of player for Rangers.
“No longer should talented footballers need to make a choice between education and football. We are extremely grateful for the backing of the Rangers Board to allow us to move the Academy forward and are excited about working with Head Teacher Douglas Brown and his team at Boclair Academy to deliver something special.
“We want to create our own home grown players who excel at the highest level of the Scottish game and in Europe, and also recruit players externally who we can develop and add to their value, through the high performance environment we are creating.”
Rangers Managing Director Stewart Robertson commented: “We are delighted to confirm a new partnership with East Dunbartonshire Council. Boclair Academy and our own Academy at Auchenhowie will benefit greatly from the association, with our talented youth players receiving the highest standard of education and the pupils at Boclair enjoying top class coaching sessions from our Academy staff.
“Education and sport go hand in hand and I am confident this initiative will be a huge success for everyone. This new programme further enhances the Board’s commitment to creating a modern football environment, with developing players at the heart of our business strategy.”
In almost all European countries with such a clear conflict of interests Walsh wouldn’t get to referee a match involving any Glasgow club, he probably wouldn’t get to referee a match in the same division as the players he works with on a daily basis.
With Crawford Allan and Ian Maxwell in charge at the SFA Walsh is assured of refereeing the top fixtures with his conflict of interest all part of the ‘fun’ that passes for normality in Scottish football.
CLICK HERE for staff at Boclair Academy.
Did you see Mr Blobby the linesman running (huff, puff) the stand side at the girls game tonight Joe? What an embarrassment.
The pigmy pocket ref. visits the supermarket in his boxer shorts because I have seen him!
I suppose life just all rolls into one for him!
I think he was following me!
When they leave Boclair Academy they’ll still be thick huns that couldn’t kick their own arse. More moonbeams.
Why aren’t you contacting Celtic officials for a comment on this situation, and the obvious conflict of interest.
Surely our officials aren’t happy about it.
Editor: Celtic are very happy with the situation, it allows levelling up to take place. Since July 2012 the Celtic board know that they daren’t criticise the SFA on anything #5/6wayagreement
Well i say its our cowards on the board who are scared to open there mouths incase the corrupt sfa.spfl let the cat out of the bag p.lawwell should be no were paradise especially after tossing our 10th title down the river clyde just to save the blue pounds honest ill never let that bastard forget what he done our club is full of torys now and i dont trust anyone of them now honest not after the 5way agreement eh..