Philippe Clement has revealed that he would quit football if he thought that a referee wasn’t neutral.
Tomorrow Willie Collum is getting a low key return to Ibrox for the Scottish Cup tie against Ayr United after the 2012 Tribute Act demanded that the SFA remove the Lanarkshire based official from their matches.
Since then John Beaton twice, Alan Muir, David Dickinson and Don Robertson have refereed matches involving Clement’s side.
The Belgian has already established a special rapport with Dickinson who will referee Sunday’s match between St Mirren and Celtic.
? “When there is one moment I think a referee is not neutral then I would directly quit my job…”
Philippe Clement is happy Willie Collum will referee Rangers’ Scottish Cup tie, revealing he wasn’t part of talks requesting he wasn’t involved in their games ? pic.twitter.com/YBcDw2lw4U
— Sky Sports Scotland (@ScotlandSky) February 9, 2024
With 90% of top flight referees coming from Lanarkshire, Glasgow and Ayrshire there is virtually no chance of locating and promoting neutral referees.
Following a win over Celtic Beaton enjoys nothing better than joining his pals at the Crown Bar Bellshill to relive his decisions on the day and how he refused to apply the laws of the game to Alfredo Morelos.
With Hugh Dallas pulling the strings behind the scenes Lanarkshire referees are heavily represented in the top fixtures. If you are from Bellshill or Motherwell you have more chance of reaching the top than a match official from Aberdeen or Dundee.
In a similar theme, the PE Department of Boclair Academy, the partnership school for the Murray Park starlets has two staff members, Nick Walsh and Grant Irvine among the 19 refereeing SPFL Premiership matches.
Was Clement just back from a liquid lunch?
Weird thing to say indeed.
Is he trying to imply that Scottish referees are inherently unbiased?
Is he trying to imply that his own moral values are exemplary?
[Yet he chose to become manager of a club such as sevco?!]
Was it simply a poor effort at deflection for the MSM?
Strange chap.
Pity then that he (Clement) doesn’t have the thoughts of all the Celtic supporters and all the thoughts of the fans of all the other competing Premier League clubs about the cheats with whistles, flags and monitors then…
He’d be offski the day before tomorrow then !
Is that knucklehead taking the piss?
They are not neutral stevie g told us that after one game
Is there neutral and more neutral maybe?
Trying to influence Mr Colum here.
Fckn mind games.