Scottish football’s got a funny way of tying itself in knots over refereeing. The laws of the game don’t change when you cross the border, but the way they’re applied up here can feel like a weekly guessing game. And for Rangers fans, that uncertainty quickly turns into the same old noise: “jobs for the boys”, “they’re against us”, and round we go again.
Same rules, different interpretation
Truth is, most supporters aren’t demanding special treatment. They just want a baseline: consistency. If a handball is a handball, it should stay a handball whether it’s at Ibrox, Tynecastle, or anywhere else in the SPFL. When similar incidents get different outcomes, you can see why folk start filling the gaps with suspicion.
That’s where the idea of looking outward makes sense. Not because other leagues are perfect. They aren’t. But there’s value in asking how other countries support referees, how they train them, how they review decisions, and how they communicate with the public when they get it wrong. If the answer is “we already do that”, fine. At least it’s been tested properly rather than assumed.
Accountability doesn’t need to be a circus
We’re not talking about turning refs into punching bags. Nobody sensible wants that. But there’s a middle ground between silence and a pile-on. A clearer process for reflection, accountability and action would go a long way. Not just a quiet word behind closed doors, but a system supporters can actually understand.
Because right now the optics are brutal. Even when decisions even out over a season, the perception lingers that the same faces rotate through the same roles and nothing really changes. That perception is poison, and it doesn’t just hit Rangers games. It hits the credibility of the whole league.
A clean slate could break the cycle
A bit of fresh thinking, and better leadership at the top of the refereeing structure, would at least give the game a chance to reset the conversation. Someone with a clean slate matters, simply because it cuts down the tribal “he’s one of them” nonsense before it starts. Nobody should be able to wave it away as one side getting their way.
Call it revolution if you like, call it drama if you must. But Scottish football could do with being brave for once. Not for Rangers, not against anyone. Just for the basic idea that the sport is run properly, and seen to be run properly.
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