The SFA put arch Ibrox supporter David Dickinson in charge of Celtic’s trip to Easter Road, whatever could they be up to?
The SFA put arch Ibrox supporter David Dickinson in charge of Celtic's trip to Easter Road, whatever could they be up to?
Eric Knott 
MOTHERWELL, SCOTLAND - MARCH 21: Referee David Dickinson during a William Hill Premiership match between Motherwell and Hibernian at Fir Park, on March 21, 2026, in Motherwell, Scotland. (Photo by Craig Foy/SNS Group via Getty Images)
So, David Dickinson will be the on field referee for Celtic’s trip to the capital to take on Hibs next weekend.
On VAR will be Don ‘let everything go’ Robertson.
That will now be consecutive weekends where he’s been involved in officiating a game involving Hibernian.
I know the SFA like to mix things up…
Clearly not.
Robertson’s allegiances are rumoured to be leaning towards the green half of Glasgow.
But as a result, he tends to over-compensate when it comes to games involving Celtic.
Its usually open season on Celtic players when he’s the man in the middle.
He tends to let everything go.
Who could forget the almost career ending tackle from Calum Butcher on David Turnbull a few seasons ago at Tannadice?
Robertson deemed that one to be worthy of only a yellow card.
So that’s our VAR for next weekend.
Doesn’t exactly fill you full of confidence, does it?
And I haven’t even gone into detail on arch hun, David Dickinson, who is the man in the middle on Sunday.
Dickinson has never even tried to hide his allegiances.
Everybody knows who he supports.
The fact that he has been put in charge of a game involving Celtic before his favourite side play on Monday night, well, to me that’s just typical of the SFA.
There is no consideration for the fact that unconscious bias might influence Dickinson to make decisions in our game that might favour his favourite side, is there?
Of course there isn’t.
Dickinson is the SFA’s choice because they know exactly what he CAN do.
They know how he can influence a game.
The first weekend of the post split fixtures didn’t throw up a whole pile of refereeing controversies.
Aside from the Edinburgh derby which was a fiery affair.
Don Robertson wasn’t left with much choice in either of the Hibernian sending off’s.
They were pretty clear cut.
But this weekend coming?
This could be the one where you see something controversial happening.
I’m going to get out there now.
David Dickinson WILL make at least one controversial decision on Sunday.
And it will be one that goes against us.
This guy cannot help himself.
Dickinson has been craving the opportunity to referee a Glasgow Derby, but you know what?
I think the reason the SFA have never handed him that fixture is because they know he’s a weapon.
And they only deploy him in what they would consider a more subtle way in other games involving both Glasgow sides.
But were they to set him free on a Glasgow Derby, I think they know their weapon would develop into a loose cannon.
Even they aren’t that stupid.
Dickinson has been a grade 1 official, officiating in the Scottish Premiership since March 2021.
In 5 years of refereeing in the top flight, he has never been given a Glasgow Derby.
Do you ever wonder why?
I think even the SFA knows there are lines that cannot be crossed.
The below image might shed some light on that:
Ironically, David’s uncle might be the very reason he’s never had the pleasure of refereeing his favourite team in Scotland’s premier fixture.
I’m not so sure that Dickinson was very happy with that dead giveaway!
But there have been others.
Like this one, which would indicate that he doesn’t really care if anybody knows where his allegiances lie.
Nothing to see here, of course.
Yeah right.
This particular rap sheet from the Celtic Curio last February kind of sums Dickinson up:
David Dickinson 🍊
— Celtic Curio (@Celticcurio) February 4, 2026
Reffed 4 Hun games this season.
▪️Dun.Utd (A) 2-2 – Awards the Huns a 97th min pen.
▪️ M'well (H) 1-0 Denies M'well a stonewall pen.
▪️ Aberdeen (A) 2-0 Awards the Huns a soft pen.
▪️ Kilmarnock (H) Awards the Huns a 5th min pen. Red card for Killie 4mins pic.twitter.com/FVa2346xka
This is what we’re up against on Sunday folks.
You wouldn’t see this anywhere else in European football.
Yet you’ll see it in Scotland.
A referee who doesn’t even care to hide who he supports.
In fact he’s so blatant about it, he doesn’t care if he’s caught winking, smiling, and nodding at Ibrox managers when he’s done them a favour.
So bad is he, that even arch hun Neil McCann complained about his favouritism towards the Ibrox side last February:
David Dickinson wae yet another game changing decision that benefits rangers.
— Terry O'Neill (@terryoneill67) February 4, 2026
Neil McCann pic.twitter.com/IMkROsoQqI
This is who were up against next Sunday.
Hibernian and their players will be the least of our worries.
If you’re a betting man, put your money on a Celtic player being sent off, or a penalty being given to Hibs.
Your odds on that happening should be pretty good.
In a normal world, we’d never have to talk about something like this.
But this is Scottish football.
It exists far beyond the realms of normality.
And this is just another facet of the Banana Republic that is the SFA.
It was ever thus…
Key Takeaways
- David Dickinson will officiate the Celtic vs Hibs match, raising concerns about his apparent bias.
- Don Robertson will serve as VAR, known for his leniency towards players, particularly against Celtic.
- Dickinson’s clear allegiances lead to skepticism about his officiating, especially in matches involving Celtic.
- In five years, Dickinson has never refereed a Glasgow Derby, suggesting SFA’s awareness of potential bias.
- The article predicts at least one controversial decision against Celtic during the upcoming match.
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This has not come as a surprise. I have previously stated that the man in black along with his brethren will go all out to change any game against us. We just have to be box clever and hope that they don’t succeed.
I been saying to my wife last 3 weeks, they will find a way to get Truty banned for Rangers game as he Olay’s his best on big stage. Watch this space