Rangers manager Steven Gerrard has extraordinarily had an about face in the wake of his side’s clash against Celtic at Ibrox in December, believing Scottish referees should now be shown respect.
Speaking in the wake of a statement made by the Hoops last week concerning the performance of John Beaton, regular referee critic Gerrard has defended the official at Ibrox.
As quoted by The Daily Mail, the Gers boss said:
I can’t control what comes out of Celtic in terms of statements. I am focused on my players, everyone of them to a man was terrific.
The referee has virtually an impossible job because he’s dealing with two sets of players who are fired up. He’ll see certain things and he’ll miss things, that’s human nature. We had situation where (Daniel) Candeias was on the end of a really nasty challenge.
You can obviously go back in every single game of football all over the world and analyse certain situations that referees have missed. It’s a very difficult job out there, especially in the heat of an Old Firm.. But we’ve got a duty of care to respect referees and appreciate the job they do.
At times this year decisions have gone against us – at Dundee there was an offside that killed us for two points – but you’ve got to have the respect for the referees where over the course of a year they’ll balance themselves out.
Calling for respect of referees is quite remarkable considering Gerrard’s and Rangers’ stance on officiating this season.
After the former Liverpool man’s very first domestic game in charge this season, he claimed that referees have been against Rangers for years and demanded answers for the performance of Kevin Clancy.
In September, he blamed referees for his side losing at Celtic Park, fuming in his post-match interview.
After Rangers drew against St Mirren in Paisley, he said Willie Collum’s performance was embarrassing, with Rangers releasing a statement later on the matter, claiming that there is an ongoing ‘underlying issue’ with regards to his officiating.
None of that sounds very respectful to me.
Rangers have been as guilty as anyone for overly criticising officials this season, so for a senior Ibrox figure to turn around now and defend them is rather ridiculous.
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