John Bomber Brown once famously or infamously announced corruption. He wasn’t happy that a ball had been called as not over the line and criticised the referees and VAR as corrupt. Ibrox Noise did not agree with this. There was no definitive angle which proved anything because VAR was not set up in the way that would allow for it to be done so. Bomber Brown wasn’t having any of it and screamed corruption while Tom Miller desperately tried to keep a rein on the former Rangers defender.
Incompetence Over Corruption
Ibrox Noise had never been keen on that word, corruption. The simple reality is the Scottish football refereeing fraternity is simply dire. It is poorly trained and it is only part-time. It is far less about corruption and far more about incompetence. They get stuff wrong way more than any developed nation in Europe or elsewhere does at the top of its game.
Standards and Training Issues
Even those countries who have part-time refs, such as the Championship in England, nevertheless do not have the low standard of refereeing in Scotland because they are trained properly and professionally, even if they are only part-time in operation. Scotland does not do the training, it does not pay enough and it has what we would call slightly above-level amateur referees doing the job while they then go back to their 9 to 5 from Monday to Friday.
The Collum Example
Consequently, when we see Willie Collum, for example, covering up what appeared to be a literal cover-up. When Alistair Johnston handled the ball, it was not corruption, it was purely incompetence, and him covering up his men’s mistake.
Backing His Officials
There should have been a penalty and we do know that Collum backed it up completely, backed Walsh’s ‘decision’ up, backed up his men’s job, and specifically their mistake, and defended it in the most ridiculously jargony way that he always likes to do.
Loyalty Versus Accountability
Willie Collum is the guy who will back up his men no matter what they do. He will never, ever throw them under the bus. They will always be in the right, and he will defend that no matter what, or no matter how ridiculous he looks. Is that a good thing, that your boss has your back? In all honesty, yes, it is, despite what John Bomber Brown said.
A Common Workplace Dynamic
Who does not want their boss defending them publicly, or defending them to the other departments when they make a mistake? The reality is that he will privately tell the referee in question that he got this one wrong. We believe it was Nick Walsh on VAR that day who made a mistake.
Where the Lines Blur
Instead of just admitting it, Collum called it out as a completely correct decision. This is where the corruption lines blur. Not corruption, just a boss backing up his man no matter what. It happens in all walks of life, where a boss wants to be seen as on their employee’s side.
The Double Standard
Because employees who feel supported and backed up will work harder and do better. It will be a better team because mistakes will happen. We see what happens at the exact opposite end when a boss throws their player, for example, under a bus and calls out a mistake. It does not exactly make the player feel great, does it?
Final Perspective
It happens many times, and a number of times that fans will be critical of that boss for throwing a player under the bus. You cannot have it both ways. You cannot criticise ‘corruption’ while then criticising someone for admitting a mistake. The fact is that Collum just backs up his men every single time that they get something wrong, which in Scotland is frequent.
Conclusion
So at the end of the day, it is not necessarily corrupt in Scotland as opposed to what John Bomber Brown said. It is, however, a question of integrity. Is Collum ever willing to admit that someone, including himself, made a mistake? Well, the answer there is basically no, alas. And we would all like to have people having our backs in high position, but it is not corruption any more than simply defending your mates.