Rangers want retribution rather than justice and Willie Collum MUST be protected by SFA - Hugh Keevins

The trial of a player from a high-profile English club, who is facing a serious charge, had to be delayed last week. Two potential jurors had to be excluded when they admitted to being season ticket holders at the home of the club’s greatest rivals.

Any risk of an accusation that the course of justice might be perverted because of football affiliations had to be avoided by the court. Think about it. A man’s guilt, or innocence, along with his liberty, became temporarily entangled in the historic rivalry between two football teams. That simply can’t be right.

The game in Britain is periodically shown to be in an unstable place. Witness the appalling scenes on social media as a disabled Raith Rovers fan was the victim of a horrific street attack after his team’s derby win over Dunfermline at East End Park on January 2. That can’t be tolerated under the guise of “passion” for a football club.

Which brings me to the suggestion that Rangers have requested Willie Collum be disqualified from refereeing any of their future matches because they claim he made a serious error during the defeat from Celtic on December 30. The ins and outs of the build-up to the moment when Celtic’s Alistair Johnston puts the ball out of play with his hand in the penalty box have been so well documented they need no further repetition here.

The aftermath of the game, culminating in a meeting between the SFA ’s head of referees Crawford Allan and Rangers’ chief executive James Bisgrove, has only succeeded in making matters worse, not better.

I believe if there is no transparency then there is secrecy. If you have secrecy then there is suspicion. And if there is suspicion then you have mistrust. A national football association can’t have