ICT v Celtic - The "logic" of the Scottish football media: One wrong makes a wrong, two wrongs make a right

Celtic were just not good enough today. The defence is a shambles and for over 2 years now I've been saying that we have decent journeymen SPL pros at the back but Celtic should be aiming for a higher standard. Watching today and from what I have seen on occassion previously in the season, I sometimes wonder how we managed to get to the 2nd round of the Champions League again. However Strachan seems to rate McManus, Caldwell and Pressley highly.

Having said that - a couple of important decisions went against Celtic today. I was watching the game on Setanta and was not surprised when Scott Booth managed to convince himself, but probably not the viewing public, that the award of a penalty to Caley Thistle was correct. I have noticed a recurring pattern in incidents such as this involving Celtic where an opposing player has fallen spectacularly in the Celtic penalty box. The first pictures in real time are inconclusive, but with each replay, the summariser and commentator manage to talk themselves into the opinion that the referee was correct and by the fifth replay they are highlighting the fact that a bead of sweat from the Celtic defender's brow brushed his opponent's shinpad.

The one breath of fresh air in this instance came in the shape of Frank McAvennie, who at half time came straight out and said it was never a penalty, despite Rob MacLean's pleas that there might have been the slightest of contact (as if this would merit a penalty award anyway) and the five replays shown to try to convince the rest of us. John Robertson squirmed awkwardly in his seat as, in the absence of Burley or Dodds to toe the party line with some fudge about the merest of contact, he had to admit that Celtic had been the victims of a refereeing mistake.

Now, in last week's post I said that the Scottish media have a compulsion to apply negative spin to almost any situation regarding Celtic and today was a prime example of this.

Consider the key decisions in the match -

• Penalty awarded to ICT - Incorrect: Celtic disadvantaged
• Celtic goal disallowed@ 2-2 - Incorrect: Celtic disadvantaged
• Proctor of ICT sent off for last man foul - Correct no advantage/disadvantage

Given the circumstances outlined above any sensible person might assume that a significant part of the post match analysis would have centered around these events and the adverse effect they had on Celtic's efforts to win the game.

Well, any sensible person would be wrong. Instead Setanta's motley crew of Rob, Robbo and Steve Lovell (in his post match interview with Craig Brewster), chose bizarrely to harp on about the fact that Steven Pressley was not sent off after the award of the penalty, even though all three acknowledged that the penalty should never have been given in the first place.

Yes in a classic example of Scottish football's Orwellian media doublethink, our much reveered pundits managed to somehow turn a situation in which Celtic had been severely disadvantaged by the referee, into one where he had somehow done us a massive favour! Robertson was even moved to comment - "This is the kind of situation that fuels conspiracy theories of bias in favour of the Old Firm".

Incredible!

On an aside, this reference to this ever elusive entity "The Old Firm", reminded me of the unpleasant experience of watching Sportscene's results programme at Saturday tea time. Not only was there the disappointment of the creamers scoring a jammy late winner, but I was almost put off my dinner (no mean feat) by having to listen to Cosgrove and Nevin debating whether the decision to allow Rangers' request postpone their leage fixture against Gretna was another example of bias towards the Old Firm.

Do you think the SPL would grant Celtic a postponement of all of our league games till Febraury by which time Naka will be back and we might have bought a few good defenders [crosses fingers and toes]?