Joe Hart became the first Celtic player to be sent off domestically this season when he was red carded half after 28 minutes of the away match at Livingston.
It was the correct decision as John Beaton finally caught up with the Laws of the Game, in the 10 minutes before the Hart incident two Livingston players escaped punishment for dangerous lunges at Matt O’Riley and Liam Scales.
With the match in the balance Scales and Alistair Johnston were booked alongside the red card for Hart. With Celtic leading 2-0 Beaton booked four Livingston players between the 66th and 80th minutes.
I think the last home player red carded in the league at Ibrox was Jordan Jones v Celtic in October 2019 nearly 4 years ago even then it was in the dying seconds with Celtic already 2-0 up
— Steven Daley (@DaleySteven) September 23, 2023
Perhaps the only thing that could have saved Hart from being sent off would be an Allan McGregor mask.
Just like the penalty stats, 60 and counting going into today’s match against Motherwell, the difference in red cards between the two Glasgow clubs has become stark.
At the start of last season Willie Collum sent off Alfredo Morelos and John Lundstram away to Hibs. Collum is a very poor referee, groomed in the style of Hugh Dallas but was considered to be at least among the top three Scottish referees.
Since his double red card performance against Hibs he has been left out of the rota for Glasgow derbies.
With Bobby Madden quitting for a season in England the SFA have put Steven McLean and Don Robertson in charge of Glasgow derbies with Collum left on the sidelines.
He was scheduled to handle last season’s Scottish Cup semi-final but was injured in the warm up, in the two derbies since then Collum has been overlooked.
Yellow on Scales? Then another on CalMac for explaining the rules of the game to Beaton. pic.twitter.com/6IgvTsb8E1
— GrandOLTeam (@JBLuvsCeltic) September 23, 2023
i firmly believe collum took a dive in the cup game , he knew what was expected of him from sevco and he was banished by them for having a bad game at ibrox some years ago which took him out of the mix for some time , the usual suspects had done enough awarding penalties to sevco last season and being in charge against celtic in the cup would have drawn more heat on them , they set willie up for a fall , but he was too cute the hoor !! he red carded himself !!! lol
So they the SFA have given the Tory with 3 jobs another GIG in Glasgow at the home of the team he supports,you couldn’t make it.
Ross the Toss and his Tory mates have inflicted a massive Cost of Living CRISIS on this country and today he is back in Glasgow picking up nice coins once again.
The SFA have paid for his travel from to come from the very North of the country,paid for his hotel overnight with his food thrown in for good measure,when infact the SFA could quite easily handed the linesman slot to someone closer at home and saved a fortune.
What was wrong with given THE PONCE the Dundee game yesterday and just use another official from in or around the Glasgow area in these times of a Cost of Living CRISIS.
It’s AMAZING what a TICKLY HANDSHAKE can get you these days,free alcohol at a pub in BELLSHILL for starters.
And again: what is the linesman looking at / what are the linemen for…?
The linesman had clear sight of the Scales’ tackle – ball connected with first –
and no flag raised.
Beaton ‘saw’ something that neither his lineman,
nor those in the stadium or watching TV viewers saw.
Even the Livi players didn’t protest about Scales’ tackle.
All referees should be made to explain their decision-making,
when it is confusing to the paying customers…and to the players.