Will the media now say he was telling lies?

After telling lies and refusing to back down, Dougie McDonald has finally did the right thing and resigned from the post of a Grade 1 referee. The former official may have considered what he did to be a trifling matter; after all, it was a mere untruth, a fib, a white lie, no more serious than telling a child that Santa Claus exists but it seriously damaged his intergrity and his right for respect.

The media may have tried to brainwash everyone into believing he eventually made the right call (there is no way anyone can say it was 100% a penalty or not a penalty, however the addition of the Gary Kenneth challenge of Hooper should have left the probability in Celtic’s favour) but that is not and has never been the issue at stake here.

The first instance still revolves around what occurred to change McDonald’s mind about the award.

Was it the actions of the Dundee United players who crowded around him and who acted in an aggressive manner towards the whistler? Was there a shout from the fourth official about doubts over the award? Did Dougie himself instantly regret awarding the penalty and decided to look for a way to save face and change his decision?

Another hypothetical argument could revolve around Steven Craven attracting the attention of the referee but as we all know now, this did not happen.

So, the question of why McDonald had the change of heart has never been asked or raised by the media, which seems very strange as it is surely a key part of the story?

Anyways, the decision was rescinded and McDonald restarts play by ushering Celtic players away from the ball and allowing Dundee United to clear the ball from their own box. It was a truly engrossing game at Tannadice that day with Celtic grabbing a late winner through Gary Hooper.

The real story and action takes place in the referee’s dressing room at Tannadice which is where Dougie McDonald started the lie that now sees him out of refereeing.

Again, the question (that has not been asked by the Scottish media) revolves around why? Why did McDonald need to lie? If he was so certain of doing the right thing, why did he have to lie to Neil Lennon?

The suggestion that McDonald lied to save his own reputation or that of his colleagues can only put greater importance on the match report and the way referees are judged. Is it so important for officials to be seen in the right light that they must lie about their decisions? In an industry where integrity is everything, if this is the case it is extremely worrying.

So, Dougie is gone and the worrying aspect is that with Dallas and McDonald out of the building and with more time to spend on other business ventures, will this be considered the end of the matter?

The need for change and increased transparency within the SFA is now more important than ever and Dougie McDonald could do the game a lot of good if he was to go with public with the real events of that day. An insight into the way referees are adjudged and evaluated would also provide a better understanding of the pressures that are being placed on refs by the existing setup and systems at Hampden Park.

If nothing else, children will have learned that telling lies can lead to a lot of trouble…Scottish parents may be thanking Dougie McDonald in the days, weeks, months and years to come.

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Someone at Hampden isn’t telling the truth

Football fans in Scotland have got their wish. It is now time to put the penalty incident at Tannadice in the match between Dundee United versus Celtic behind everyone and get on with things. Things of course being the representations made by the SFA since the incident and it isn’t looking good for the governing body.

The SFA issued their report today into the game…and it all appears wrapped up into a neat explanation.

“As is appropriate in these circumstances, Dougie, unprompted, decided to approach the assistant referee, Steven Craven, who had assumed the required position for the taking of the penalty. Dougie then asked Steven if he had seen the Dundee United goalkeeper, Dusan Pernis, touch the ball first and Steven confirmed that, in his opinion, the goalkeeper had.”

If you would like to read the full report, it can be found here:
SFA Website

The word “unprompted” is the key one and just so we weren’t making a mountain out of a molehill, we double-checked it online.
un•prompt•ed / ??n?präm(p)tid/
• adv. without being encouraged or assisted to say or do something: unprompted, helpful conductors advised me to change at Thornaby those are the notions they volunteered unprompted.
• adj. said, done, or acting without being encouraged or assisted: unprompted remarks.

So, it seems that Dougie McDonald went over to the linesman of his own volition. That’s fair enough, the game had yet to restart and he is perfectly entitled to do so.

The only thing is – perhaps SFA representatives could have got their story straight first.

Hugh Dallas was interviewed by Radio Clyde last week about the incident and he had this to say:
“He asked the referee what exactly the penalty was given for? Was it the incident two seconds before it..was it…do you think the goalkeeper had taken the player out before he played it with his hands and Dougie explained no, it was the challenge by the goalkeeper and that’s when the assistant referee said well from the very good angle that I had on it, he clearly played the ball with his hands.”

The interview can be listened to here: Dallas interview

Another twist in the tale has come from the fact that a copy of the Match Observers report has found its way into the public domain and can be seen here:

Google Docs

This section caught our eye:
“At the immediate post match discussion when I asked why Mr McDonald ran over to AR2, I was told that the assistant had communicated via the head set shouting “Dougie, Dougie””

Referring back to the definition of unprompted – what is described above is certainly not unprompted. It’s not even close enough to pass off as an honest mistake, between the two documents, there is such a disparity in the retelling of events that the only conclusion that can be drawn is that lies have been told.

This now makes it a far bigger issue than merely Celtic not getting a penalty. It’s not as if other fans will now have an opinion that will run alongside Celtic’s but anyone that fails to see the disparity between the two reports needs to have a look at themselves.

It will be interesting to view the media take on these reports in the morning and what the next moves will be, from either the SFA or Celtic. As things stand, the findings offered by the SFA have made the situation even more unpalatable as opposed to clearing up the issue. Why has there been the need for such conflicting statements and reports emanating from the SFA? If the decision was straightforward and genuine, then surely a genuine description of the passage events would have cleared matters?

There is a desire to get on football and focus on the action on the park but given its the SFA themselves that have cranked up opinions today, it doesn’t look as though the end is in sight for this major talking point.

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They loved him then hated him…could they love him again?

So…the World Cup’s over, English refs are about as good as their goalkeepers and Motherwell kick off their competitive season on Thursday night. It’s all go in the world of football but sometimes a story stops you dead in your tracks.

We can’t repost and reprint every rumour that pops on message boards but this one, well, it’s a goodie. Don’t get us wrong, you can join the dots to see why it’s plausible but in reality, it just leaves you shaking your head.

The talk of the blue internet is Scott McDonald leaving Middlesbrough to come to Rangers.

Lets look at the reasons for:

Boro looking to sign Rangers Kevin Thomson – may be happy to swap.
Boro just signed another stocky immobile striker – a need for two of them?
Rangers need a poacher
Rangers are freeing wages up with Boyd, Thomson and the rest of the released players
McDonald was close to signing for Rangers before

With all that going on, you can see why some people are getting rather excited when chatting about McDonald.

However, the length of McDonald’s contract, his value as a striker who gets goals and a track record of success would suggest that Scott McDonald has a higher transfer value than Kevin Thomson.

Also, yes Rangers have freed up wages but they are looking to replace their lost players and make financial savings. Surely if the money is there to pay Scott McDonald, it would have been there to pay Kris Boyd what he thought he deserved?

And would the striker relish the thought of coming back to Glasgow but playing for the other side?

Skippy has talked long and hard about his love for Celtic but lets face it, it never stopped him doing the business for Motherwell when Rangers needed it most. You get the impression Scott McDonald plays for Scott McDonald.

Who knows, it could come to life and our questions could be trampled over by fans telling us “we told you so” and other pleasantries. Or it could just be more proof that the world is going mad.

Then again, if Jimmy Bullard really is wanting £75,000 a week, who knows about anything any more?

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It’s good to talk…

You would have thought that the deadline day move to Middlesbrough would have seen the end of Scott McDonald bumping his gums in the media about Celtic and what is going wrong at Celtic Park.

At the weekend he was pontificating about how the replacements for the band of brothers who fled to England during the window have been replaced by inferior players.

Yes, Scott, your replacement is clearly an inferior striker compared to you.

Strewth!

And now today, he is back in the Evening Times with another Ronnie Cully exclusive, Ronnie certainly has the ear of some players doesn’t he?

Don’t get us wrong, it’s not entirely McDonald’s fault, it is not as though he phoned up the Evening Times asking for his opinions to be published. He will have been asked to give his opinion and has probably gave it as honestly as he can.

“Even with me not at the club, Tony Mowbray likes to make changes at that period in games, for reasons unknown to players who will question, if you’re having not a bad game, why are you taking me off?

It was not something I was completely happy about, and I’d be honest about it and say. But, he’s the boss and, accordingly, he does what he sees as right. You’re not always going to agree with it, though.”

The substitutions made by Mowbray have been questioned by many fans this season, some have worked, like away to Dynamo Moscow or Saturday at Rugby Park, whereas others have disrupted the team.

McDonald suggests that the team was not consistent enough in the first half of the season and that the signing of Keane was too little, too late. Again, it is hard to argue with this but some of the responsibility must fall on McDonald’s shoulders.

Too often McDonald looked uninterested playing under Tony Mowbray. Fair enough, you may not like the boss but if you are being paid handsomely by the club and McDonald’s new contract ensured that he was being paid handsomely, to put in so many below par performances came close to cheating the fans.

McDonald’s first season at Celtic, his goals were a massive reason in the side winning the league.

McDonald’s last season ended in disappointment but his all-round play and work-rate kept the side in the hunt. The Australian striker never had a partner worthy of the name for the majority of 08/09 and in WeKnowSFA’s eyes was Celtic’s best player for the season.

This season though, it was almost embarrassing at times watching an overweight McDonald bawl and moan at team-mates who at least were trying to work hard on the pitch.

Scott McDonald may have only been sold on deadline day but he checked out of Celtic Park a good while before then.

Continuing to make these comments will diminish the goodwill he built up with Celtic fans in his first two seasons.

It’s a shame but that’s modern day football for you.