There is one set of Laws of the Game, applied universally wherever football is played.
Recently Willie Collum has been keen to highlight the phrase subjectivity which allows match officials to interpret the Laws to their liking, where two similar incidents can have an entirely different outcome dependent on the match officials involved.
If Luke Armstrong uses two hands to push Cameron Carter-Vickers in mid-air then Callum Scott and John Beaton will let it go because it leads to a goal against Celtic and makes the product more exciting for Sky Sports viewers.
Replays of the incident from Sky Sports were very limited, there was no sign of an angle from behind either goal.
Five weeks earlier when Jack Butland punches a corner from Andy Halliday into his own net Kevin Clancy will award a free kick against Tony Watt to prevent the away team falling 3-1 behind and falling further behind Celtic going into the Glasgow Derby.
Subjectivity.
Contrast the scrutiny, the number and variation of camera angles compared to Motherwell’s goal today.pic.twitter.com/ErNSa1AWlB
— Terry O’Neill (@terryoneill67) February 2, 2025
The clip above shows minimal contact between Watt and Butland but it was enough for Clancy to intervene.
A couple of weeks later away to Manchester United Butland punched a corner into his own net in a Europa League tie, this time there was no SFA official around to apply subjectivity.
Armstrong’s equaliser kept the visit from Celtic in the balance with Celtic 2-1 ahead until the 94th minute.
Celtic CEO Michael Nicholson believes that accountability is applied by Willie Collum’s monthly 25 minute VAR Review where highly selective incidents are chose for the whitewash treatment with most legacy media outlets going on about what a great lad the newly appointed SFA Head of Refereeing is.
Not since 2016 have UEFA or FIFA called in a Scottish referee to be involved in a major championship.
Picture by Getty Images
4 minutes 55 seconds for push on Cameron Carter-Vickers
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Also noticed they had 5 yellows in ther game in Europe last week….contrast that with them being virtually unbookable in the spl
How much of a shove…is a shove ??…Surely you either shove somebody…or you don’t. …It’s when you compare this to other decisions…you’re left baffled…The fix is in…AGAIN !!
Good spot…
The third paragraph says it all…
THE GAME IN SCOTLAND IS CORRUPT –
Or to use a more official word ‘irregular’ !
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