Kilmarnock v Falkirk, Here We Go Again

BT SPORT picked up a cracker when they opted to show the second leg of the Championship/Premiership Play-Off Semi-Final between Falkirk and Hibs last night. OK, purists might quibble at the technical quality of the play but, this was Scottish football in the raw and at its best. Each side had spells in the ascendancy, there were some purple patches, no quarter was asked or given, and, the outcome was literally in doubt right up to the final kick. I must admit, I could see it going all the way to sudden-death penalty kicks, before Bob McHugh sealed the Bairns' place in the Final, against Kilmarnock.

As a Killie fan, this outcome worries me. We have history with the Bairns, lengthy history. Take the key meetings in my own lifetime. In 1957, Killie finished third in the Division One table, Falkirk finished fourteenth. On their way to meeting in the Scottish Cup Final, Killie had to win an Ayrshire Derby against Ayr United, then beat East Fife, their Scottish Cup nemesis, before beating Celtic in a semi-final replay – the Rugby Parkers went to Hampden as favourites.

Falkirk threaten the Killie goal during the 1957 final which they won

Falkirk's road to Hampden was more-straightforward. Yes, they beat Aberdeen and Raith Rovers, who would finish sixth and fourth in the league, but their other “victims”, Berwick Rangers and Clyde were Division Two sides. That, however, mattered little as the Bairns beat Killie 2-1 in a final replay, after the first game ended as a 1-1 draw.

But, as Sandy Ferguson's picture shows, Killie got their revenge in 1997

Okay, we had our revenge in the 1997 final at Ibrox, but, why have I this nagging feeling, it is perhaps again time for a crucial meeting between the two clubs to end up as Falkirk's turn to win? I just feel, we are going to see Ayrshire Derbies back on the agenda next season.

The two games between Falkirk v Hibs did not lack drama – that: “Was it a penalty” moment in the first game, when Falkirk's David McCracken clearly handled the ball, but, referee Alan Muir decided it had been accidental. Now, I accept Alan was probably the only man in Scotland, viewing the incident either live, in the flesh, or on TV, who arrived at that: “No penalty” conclusion. However, his was the only view that counted, after all, it is a core principle of the game, enshrined in Law V (I) - “The referee is the sole judge of fact”.

I will go to my grave, alongside the entire Nation of Leith, convinced Mr Muir got it wrong, but, the fact is, my opinion, the opinion of every Hibbee living, matters not one iota. The only opinion that matters is that of Alan Muir, and his was: “No penalty”. Live wth it and move on.

Last night, in the second leg, it was Craig Thomson's turn to be second-guessed. He did award Hibs a penalty, I (for what it is worth) agreed with his decision. James Keatings scored and, things looked good for the Edinburgh side.

But, Mr Thomson's decision to merely award the spot kick, and NOT to book or send off the sinning Falkirk defender, the aforementioned Mr McCracken, wasn't good enough for TV punditry's “Mr Angry”, Chris Sutton, and some of his colleagues among the BT Sport talking heads, notably Stephen Craigen.

Now, I am prepared to wager, during his recent past as a Motherwell and Northern Ireland central defender, had Craigen been penalised for the sort of tackle McCracken was pinged for last night, he would have been a most-unhappy bunny, had he even been booked.

We know Chris Sutton never accepts a referee's decision. He has built an entire post-playing media career on not agreeing with anyone else – only Chris Sutton can see truth, that is his unique selling point. Basically, Chris Sutton was an over-rated tit as a player, he is an over-rated tit as a pundit.

 Chris Sutton - never admits to being wrong 

Nowhere in the Laws of the Game, does it say that, when the referee awards a penalty, he must also consider if the infringement was worthy of a red or yellow card. Yes, I accept, McCracken fouled James Keatings inside the box, therefore, penalty. But, I thought his was an attempted tackle which he timed wrongly. As such, it merited the award of a penalty, but, not the secondary sanction of a card.

What Sutton, Craigen and those others debating if the challenge was worthy of a red or a yellow forgot was, how the red/yellow card sanction for: “denying a clear goal-scoring opportunity” came into being. I can tell you when it all started – it was back in 1980, in that year's FA Cup Final, at Wembley, when former Scotland Under-21 defender Willie Young chopped down West Ham's Paul Allen, who had skinned him and was bearing down on the goal.

Young hit Allen outside the box, but that single tackle sparked-off a lengthy debate about punishing what was deemed: “A professional foul”. It took years before action was taken, but, eventually, the “professional foul” inside the box, was punished by the red/yellow card sanction we see today.

There is considerable distance between the clear, cynical foul of the Young variety, and the mistimed tackle such as McCracken's last night, but, second-rate pundits such as Sutton, in a desperate effort to be “edgy” and controversial, all too often open mouth without engaging brain, in a desperate effort to be controversial. There is enough aggro in football, particuarly Scottish football, without churning up additional disagreement on the basis of possibly gaining viewers.

To be fair to Sutton. He might be a tit, but, he does voice his opinion, even when way wrong; which is maybe why he is more-often seen performing for the BT new boys, rather than for boring old Establishment “Auntie” BBC.

Chris Sutton was a somewhat lucky player. His fame is largely down to being the “junior partner” under Alan Shearer in Blackburn Rovers. “SAS” striking partnership. He won a single England cap, he failed in his one attempt at management. Shearer was a genuine “world-class” striker, meeting the benchmark for that accolade by averaging better and a goal every other game. Not even when plundering the porous defences of the Scottish Premier League with Celtic, did Sutton reach that 0.5 goals per game threshold.

He was a bit of a bully as a player, he is thus as a pundit. Yes, he is controversial, but, in my view, he adds nothing to the viewer's knowledge of football. I often wish he would shut-up, but, that's not what he is paid to do.

THE Offshore Game website has suddenly attracted attention this week. What's that, you might ask? The answer, it is the result of lengthy and intense investigation, by an organisation called the Justice Network into the incidences of offshore investment in British football.

 The principal portion of the report, as far as Scottish football is concerned, is their investigation into the ramifications of the collapse and liquidation of Rangers, and its causes. In particular, the Justice network forensically digests the often overlooked “Wee Tax Case”.

The Offshore Game makes certain allegations, concerning the SFA and the SPL's response to the WTC and the waves it caused. The report also focuses on Rangers being deemed fit to play in Europem prior to liquidation, and how this came about.

The documentation which they have published is lengthy, it is complicated for the layman to understand – the actual document, an the appendices which they publish to accompany the report are by no means an easy read. But, I would encourage everyone who cares about Scottish football and its standing in the football world to read it.

Campbell Ogilvie, one-time Rangers official and director, later President of the SFA, currently one of that organisation's three Honorary Vice-Presidents, gets a particularly hard time in the report. I am not qualified to comment on the accusations made against him and the SFA, but, reading this document has reinforced my long-held belief: when the whole Rangers storm broke, when the who knew what accusations began to be debated, Mr Ogilvie ought to have stood down until the whole matter was resolved.

This final resolution of matters will, of course, be at some point in the future. The Big Tax Case is ongoing, there are court cases to be resolved. Suffice to say, this document appears to add further weight to the claims that the SFA is not fit for purpose and requires immediate and thorough overhaul.

But, the biggest scandal surrounding this whole farago is – you will NOT see the Offshore Game being the subject of any article in the mainstream media in Scotland. A football press worthy of the name, would be all over this like a rash. The Editors, Sports Editors and opinion-formers in Scotland appear to have take a universal decision that there is no story here, nothing to see here, and decided to move along.

Shame on them.