‘They don’t even hide it anymore’ ‘Disgraceful officiating’ ‘Shameless bias from Beaton’ Celtic fans rally round Rodgers

After the travesty of Tynecastle Celtic fans were delighted to hear Brendan Rodgers call out the decisions made and in particular the role of John Beaton.

Since the Bellshill based official denied Albion Rovers a Scottish Cup win at Ibrox in 2014 the spotlight has been on Beaton as he was fast tracked up the refereeing ladder thanks to the influence of Hugh Dallas from the Lanarkshire Refereeing Association.

In December 2018 he turned in an incredible performance at Ibrox with Alfredo Morelos escaping punishment for a variety of attacks on Tony Ralston, Ryan Christie and Scott Brown.

After six days of anger on social media Peter Lawwell was shamed into issuing the traditional ‘surprised and disappointed’ statement while appealing for transparency from the SFA.

Following tea and biscuits with Ian Maxwell at Hampden and a reminder of events from July 2012 the Celtic CEO dropped all interest in accountability with Beaton refereeing the 2020 and 2023 Scottish Cup Finals.

After the comments from Rodgers the big question is what happens next?

Will the SFA hand the Celtic boss a disrepute charge, will Michael Nicholson finally show face and back his manager or will media messengers be briefed about the club expressing their concerns and given reassurances from the SFA.

With no midweek match it will be a difficult issue for Celtic and the SFA to bury with fans highlighting numerous discrepancies from Beaton who seems to conjure up a different interpretation of the handball rule depending on the colour of shirt on the arm.

Despite 18 months of using VAR no Scottish officials are expected to be involved at the 2024 European Championships in Germany.

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