Celtic issue strong statement over Scottish FA’s Alfredo Morelos decision
Celtic have demanded referee John Beaton to publicly explain his decisions after Rangers striker Alfredo Morelos escaped punishment for at least three violent incidents in the new year derby.
The Scottish FA, on Thursday, announced that the Colombian would face no charges for his violent conduct during Rangers’ 1-0 win over Celtic at Ibrox. Despite video evidence clearly showing Morelos kicking Celtic captain Scott Brown in the groin, stamping on Anthony Ralston’s back and punching Ryan Christie in the groin.
All three incidents were reviewed by Scottish FA compliance officer Clare Whyte before referee John Beaton confirmed that he had witnessed all three incidents and that no action was needed. This has led the Scottish FA disciplinary panel to confirm that no retrospective punishment will be handed out to the 22-year-old.
Following the Scottish FA’s decision, Celtic have issued a strongly worded statement confirming their ‘surprise’ at the decision not to punish Morelos and claiming that it now suggests that it is okay to injure opponents in Scottish Football.
A club statement read:
"“Celtic Football Club is surprised that there will be no disciplinary action taken by the Scottish FA regarding the incidents during the match on December 29, which have been widely addressed in the media.“It is reported that no action was taken because the match referee saw all of the incidents in question.“Given that the referee took no action at the time, this tends to suggest that such conduct, which in one instance led to a Celtic player, Anthony Ralston, being injured, is acceptable in Scottish football. That cannot be right.“On the day, Celtic did not play well enough to win the match, something we accept. However, this issue goes beyond the result of the match.“Celtic is not the only club this season to raise concerns regarding the standard of officiating at matches in Scotland, concerns which have also been shared by many commentators on the game.“In order to fully understand what is going on, Celtic, our supporters, Scottish clubs and the general Scottish football public need transparency in these matters, and we therefore call on the Scottish FA to allow the referee, John Beaton, to explain these decisions publicly as well as any match officials involved in other similar circumstances.“In the meantime, we have requested a meeting with Scottish FA Chief Executive, Ian Maxwell, and the Association’s Head of Refereeing.”"
Meanwhile, STV Sport is reporting that the Scottish FA are arranging a meeting with managers, referees and PFA Scotland – which had been agreed upon by all parties last month.
A Scottish FA spokesperson, speaking to STV Sport, said: “We welcome discussion with any of our member clubs. The board discussed this last month and it was agreed that we would arrange a meeting involving stakeholders including managers, our Referee Operations department and PFA Scotland.
“This will be an excellent opportunity to open dialogue, answer questions and discuss opportunities to improve our game.”
Talk is cheap action is what counts
Despite Celtic finally releasing a statement, many fans are now demanding that the club take action against what they see as either incompetence from Scottish Football’s match officials and governing body or corruption and bias in favour of Rangers and their obsession with stopping Celtic winning ten in a row.
Former Celtic striker Chris Sutton has already called the decision by the Scottish FA a ‘stitch-up’ and that their ‘non-decision leaves the SFA wide open to accusations of corruption’.
light. Must Read. Scottish FA Morelos decision is a stitch-up
Morelos has been sent off three times this season, with one of those [shown against Aberdeen] being rescinded despite video evidence showing the striker kicking out at Scott McKenna. The 22-year-old has also picked up 13 yellow cards in 34 appearances this season for Rangers.