The comments made by Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers regarding Matchday officials has former Celtic defender Peter Grant has come out swinging, warning of the potential fallout should Rodgers be banned from the touchline for the highly anticipated derby against Rangers.
Rodgers is currently under scrutiny by the Scottish FA’s disciplinary panel following his outspoken criticism of referee Don Robertson and VAR John Beaton during Celtic’s 2-0 defeat to Hearts. Describing the officials’ performances as ‘incompetent’, Rodgers now finds himself in a precarious situation, with a potential minimum two-game suspension hanging over his head. Such a ban would see him absent from the dugout for critical away fixtures against Livingston and Rangers.
Speaking on Go Radio’s Football Show, Grant expressed his concerns about the implications of a ban for Rodgers, especially with the timing coinciding with the fiery Celtic-Rangers match at Ibrox. “Let me tell you, if he misses the Celtic-Rangers game for whatever reason, you know what people are going to be saying then. You know it’s going to be making a mockery of Scottish football. You know the conspiracy theorists everybody talks about? That will be building up,” said Grant.
The potential absence of Rodgers for such a crucial match is stirring the pot of speculation and fear of bias within the league, with Grant adding, “You’re going there without fans and your manager. You know what everyone will be talking about if Brendan is banned for that game where the away supporters are already away from it.”
Despite the brewing storm, Grant is keen to downplay the notion of any deliberate targeting of Celtic by the football authorities. “I don’t think there’s a conspiracy against Celtic. I don’t think there’s a conspiracy against anyone,” he insisted.
Rodgers should have no case to answer. He expressed a frustration with the level of competency with how VAR is being used. Since the Irishman’s comments, head of referees Crawford Allan has announced his exit, although he’s staying in the role as a lame duck until the summer.
Whatever way you slice it, any ban for Rodgers could be seen as Crawford settling scores on the way out. His comments weren’t over the score, it should be simple enough to shut this down.
