Saturday’s derby at Celtic Park is ripe for refereeing corruption, but who will the SFA appoint as the man in the middle?

As Saturday’s derby at Celtic Park draws ever closer, concerns about refereeing standards in the Scottish game have never been higher.

Not a week passes by where we don’t see a controversial decision from a Scottish referee.

More often than not, these decisions are in favour of one team.

Last weekend, they got another one against Motherwell.

I think it’s fair to say that if they hadn’t been getting away with all the decisions they’ve been getting away with lately, they wouldn’t be in third position.

In fact, they wouldn’t even be in contention.

It stems right back to their game against Livingston at Ibrox, where a blatant handball from Emmanuel Fernandez denied Livi a stonewall penalty.

Since then, all the way up to Saturday, the Ibrox side have been getting away with murder.

Aided and abetted by their buddies in the refereeing fraternity.

A few weeks ago, I said in an article that it was only a matter of time before David Dickinson got his first Glasgow Derby.

Up to this point, and inclusive of last Saturday’s decision not to award a penalty to Motherwell, Dickinson has ably proven himself to his paymasters in the SFA.

It is well known where his allegiances lie.

Has he done enough to land next Saturday’s game at Celtic Park?

I would say not quite yet.

The fact that he refereed his favourite side on Saturday makes it unlikely that he’d get to referee them for two weekends running.

However, it’s only a matter of time before he gets his first derby.

With Dickinson, you can see he has the makings of another Dallas or Beaton.

He wears his allegiances proudly on his sleeve and is not ashamed to show it on social media.

The fact that it’s unlikely he’ll get next Saturday’s derby does not allay the fears of Celtic fans when it comes to who will get this fixture.

It’s been a while since the SFA depended on Mr. O** F*** reliable, John Beaton.

Don Robertson and Nick Walsh have been the men in the middle for the two fixtures contested thus far this season.

So it’s likely that Beaton could get Saturday’s.

It seems like it’s overdue at this point.

As things currently stand, the Ibrox side is 6 points adrift of Celtic now.

Saturday represents the opportunity to cut that gap to 3 points.

Tomorrow evening’s games are both of the Glasgow side’s fixture in hand over Hearts, as they do not play again until Saturday.

By 22.00 tomorrow night, we could be level on points with Hearts, with the Ibrox also closing the gap on the Edinburgh side to 6 points if they win their game against St. Mirren at Ibrox.

Relative unknown, Ryan Lee, is the man in the middle at Ibrox, and Kevin Clancy will referee the game at Fir Park.

Lee’s allegiances are as yet unknown.

We might just get an idea after he has completed his assignment at Ibrox tomorrow evening…

Now, come Saturday, we must assume that Hearts will overcome Livingston at Tynecastle based on the current form of both sides.

That then leaves no margin for error in our own game at Celtic Park.

And obviously, no margin for error tomorrow evening at Fir Park.

We know that both fixtures are must win.

But the same applies to the Ibrox side.

If they arrive at Celtic Park on Saturday having won tomorrow night, and we have won our game against Motherwell, then it’s all to play for.

Obviously then, they will need the 3 points that bit more than we will.

But should the unthinkable happen tomorrow evening, and we lose at Fir Park, they would then have the opportunity to pull level with us on Saturday.

That, combined with who gets to referee this fixture, is the scenario that concerns me most.

We really don’t want to be facing into Saturday with that hanging over our heads.

That means that Saturday’s fixture is then ripe for referee influence.

Judging by the way Wilfried Nancy sets his sides up at the moment, we are susceptible to being caught on the break.

But not only are we susceptible to that, we are also likely to be more inclined to commit needless and possibly catastrophic fouls if we’re badly exposed at the back.

If the likes of Beaton is tasked with refereeing this one, then this kind of scenario will be like shooting fish in a barrel to such a ‘seasoned official’ as he is.

I get the feeling the SFA will make their appointment based on the outcomes of tomorrow evening’s fixtures.

If the Ibrox side is in a position to pull level with us, they will give it to Beaton.

If they need a helping hand to close the gap on us, they will give it to Beaton.

And finally, if they lose to St. Mirren, and desperately need a helping hand to stay in touch, they’ll give it to Beaton.

So there you have it.

My money is clearly on John Beaton getting Saturday’s game.

No matter what happens tomorrow evening, the Ibrox side knows that they can always depend on him for a helping hand.

Failing that, the other old faithful, Steven McLean would be the most likely candidate.

The fact that Beaton is VAR at Ibrox tomorrow evening is the only thing I can see coming in his way.

They might decide not to give him Saturday’s game on that basis.

I’m sure we’ll know by Wednesday afternoon if it’s him or not.

Either way, Saturday’s Glasgow Derby will be ripe for refereeing corruption.

But what do I know?

I’m just a conspiracy theorist like all Celtic fans.

We’ve never been known to get these things right in the past, have we?

I guess we’ll find out on Saturday, won’t we?

Key Takeaways

• Concerns about refereeing standards in the Scottish game grow as controversial decisions increase.
• The article criticizes decisions that seem to favour the Ibrox side, questioning referee David Dickinson’s neutrality.
• The upcoming Glasgow Derby at Celtic Park raises fears of referee bias affecting the outcome.
• If the Ibrox side wins their next match, it could create pressure during the derby, requiring Celtic to perform flawlessly.
• John Beaton is a likely candidate to referee the derby, raising further concerns about potential bias.