Another day, another ex Rangers player taking a swipe at the club or our players. You would think that being on the brink of winning their first title, there would be articles of celebration, congratulations an commiserations to the Scottish champions but instead they prefer to go down the road of denigration. Partick Thistle defender and now seemingly football pundit, Richard Forster, claims Albian Ajeti “cheated” to win the penalty at Rugby Park which Odsonne Edouard converted to put the Hoops 2-0 up.
Forster made the claim in the Scottish media whilst an ongoing appeal to Ajeti’s two match ban should, hopefully, see the Celtic striker vindicated and the ban dropped, “It’s the slightest of contact. Football is a contact sport.
“If you have got two players running together, they are going to bump into each other and are going to tangle.
“It’s a dive and the referee is unfortunate enough to be conned by it but that is what it is, it’s a con, it’s cheating and you don’t want it in the game.
“It’s hard enough for teams like Kilmarnock to compete with Celtic anyway but when they are getting goals given to them like that it makes it much more difficult for them.
“It leaves a sour taste in your mouth and I’m happy that it’s been brought forward like this because it’s there to be a deterrent and you don’t want it in the game. The only way to stamp it out is to retrospectively punish teams and players who have got away with one.”
Strong words from Foster but the part that caught my eye was “It’s hard enough for teams like Kilmarnock to compete with teams like Celtic“, clearly referencing Celtic’s financial and player power compared to the rest of the Scottish Premiership.
Remind me again Richard, which club spent £8m on an exorbitant wage bill to beat part time teams in Scottish footballs lowest tier whilst you were at said club? Which club spent £1.5m on a Scottish international whilst being unable to meet their financial responsibilities and then eventually went onto administration that same season? And also which club claims to be the same club after liquidation and boasts the old clubs honours but denies that they are liable for that same clubs debts?
So please, save the lectures about cheating and save the feigned sympathy for others when you have no moral high ground to take when it comes to “cheating”.