The incredible stats that expose Scottish referees against UEFA officials

Last night Philippe Clement got fairly angry at a penalty being awarded against his side by German referee Tobias Stieler.

In six months in charge at Ibrox it is something of a rarity on the domestic scene as John Beaton, Steven McLean, Alan Muir and David Dickinson appear on a rota to take charge of their matches.

With increasing attention on social media about a run of almost two years without conceding a penalty in the SPFL Beaton awarded Kilmarnock a penalty at Ibrox on January 2 after ‘missing’ an obvious handball from Abdallah Sima to open the scoring.

In Europe there are some dubious referees and questionable decisions but no special treatment or Five Way Agreement to support and back one club.

Lint does some fantastic work on the culture of honest mistakes in Scottish football, highlighting how John Beaton applies the handball completely differently depending on the team involved.

The stats produced totally blow away the notion put forward by apologists that these things balance out over the season, they don’t.

In Europe Celtic concede penalties half as frequently as their city rivals, domestically they conceded penalties three times as often.

The stats above are no snapshots, they are over substantial periods with different managers but they all highlight a pattern that no-one inside Scottish football will dare to question.

Have the Celtic board backed Brendan Rodgers since Tynecastle?

Yes, quietly expressing concerns to the SFA

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No, the usual spineless surrender we expected

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