If ever there was going to be a pundit that clearly misreads the room you just know it’s Andy Halliday.
Fresh from his Carl Starfelt comments last week, the Hearts midfielder certainly didn’t let us down this week with his comments about referee Bobby Madden and the decisions Celtic got in yesterday’s Scottish Cup semi final.
Everyone, and I mean everyone, agrees that the referee never had a great game and many Celtic fans also agree that even with that shocking performance, it was the team that let us down, not the ref so quite where Halliday was going with this leaves me baffled.
Speaking on Clyde 1 Superscoreboard Halliday said, “Listen, I don’t think Bobby Madden had a great game.
“It’s probably one of the most overreactive responses to a refereeing performance I have ever seen. I have seen worst refereeing performances in the last fortnight than I seen yesterday.
“I think you could tell from the first couple of minutes he was trying to let stuff go, which can often happen in these games.
“I thought Callum McGregor was lucky not to see a booking early, and how John Lundstram never got a booking I will never know.
“I thought Calvin Bassey was lucky not to receive a booking as well. The foul Celtic got away with in the build-up to the goal, on Carter-Vickers, was never a foul.
“If you want to go on the narrative that every decision made altered the game, then it could have been 2-0 as the free-kick before Celtic’ s goal should not have stood.”
Come on Andy. Really?
Some of the decisions Madden was giving was beyond parody. Like the retaken free kick by Turnbull that was then given to the opposition or the drop ball ADVANTAGE just outside Celtic penalty box.
I’ve never seen that before in a game and he’s telling us it’s an over reaction?
I wonder if Madden is the referee for the final because if he is then Halliday has played a blinder here!
The worst piece of refereeing I have ever seen, he stopped the game for Goldson having cramp, no head knock, does he not know the rules, then Juranovic gets pushed to the ground by Aribo, an innocuous challenge but no foul and play waved on whilst Juranovic was lying motionless on the turf.
He is an experienced ref but yet he was in players road, surprisingly more Celtic than old firm fc, the man is incapable of officiating. Then we have the twitter message, they never have to explain decisions but yet he is allowed to send provocative tweets, an absolute disgrace.
I am 55 unbroken and in all my time, I can’t remember a worse piece of refereeing.