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Anyone who thought VAR would stop vicious criticism of referees has been living in La La Land. After the first round of games in Scotland with the new technology, the usual suspects couldn’t wait to have their say. 

Of course, the injustice you feel when your team’s been wronged is part of the passion that makes the game so addictive. Any dodgy decision sends fans into meltdown on social media and whistlers get the venom every time. But it can easily spill over into something more sinister.

Conspiracy theories about match officials have been rife, it seems, since the beautiful game began.

Davie Syme was a top referee before he retired in 1994 and frequently on the sharp end of abuse from Celtic fans. In a stellar career he was the man in the middle in 19 Old Firm games and more than 50 internationals across the globe. Sadly, he passed away in 2020 at the age of 76 after a short illness. 

His father Willie was also a ref and not exactly loved by Hoops supporters who insisted he was a ‘Rangers man'. When Davie followed in his footsteps he also became known as a Bluenose and that label dogged him throughout his career. Ironically, his grandfather David was a Celtic keeper in the 1920s.

After Jock Stein became Celtic manager, he frequently complained about bias from match officials - and Syme was a target for his ire.

After an Old Firm match, the Parkhead boss was fuming at decisions he felt had gone against his team. But he had to choose his words carefully as he’d been fined by the SFA for claiming there was bias at play. As Syme walked off the pitch he saw Stein walking towards him and braced himself for an ugly confrontation. 

Instead, Stein smiled, shook his hand and said: “Congratulations David, your father would have been proud of you.”

And the shrewd Celtic legend found different ways to gain an advantage for his side, as revealed in another story Syme told. The ref was going to a Player of the Year dinner at a Glasgow hotel and he was running late. As he hurriedly parked in a dark lane he bumped into a car. When he got out to check the damage he didn’t realise there was somebody in the parked car who was also going to the dinner. It was Stein. 

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Syme was embarrassed, apologised and said he’d give him his insurance details in the hotel. Stein said: “Don’t worry, Davie. I’ll get it fixed. Let’s just say that’s one you owe me…”

Stein mellowed and eventually got over his feelings about match officials. He said: “If you’re good enough, the referee shouldn’t matter.” That didn’t endear him to some Celtic fans but he realised whistlers are human and accepted that sometimes they make wrong calls.

He was right. Referees do make mistakes. All teams suffer from that. But they don’t cheat. It’s a tough job done under extreme pressure. Calling borderline decisions in a split second is hard - that’s why we now have VAR. Bad calls happen - it doesn’t mean there are other factors at play. 

You can criticise officials when they get it wrong. That’s fine. However, insisting there are other forces at work isn’t. It has led to assaults on referees on the pitch and, in some cases, attacks on their homes. Their lives have been made a misery and their reputations trashed. 

In Scotland, the suspicion over someone’s ‘allegiance’ is still a big problem, a legacy issue that shows no signs of diminishing. Smears and wild accusations that were once heard in pubs and work places are amplified even more on social media where the unhinged make baseless claims.

There’s not much we can do about fans spewing bile and conspiracy theories. There is, however, when pundits do it. Mainstream media companies who use ex-players have a responsibility to protect the integrity of referees. Their football experts shouldn’t be allowed to use a privileged platform to imply officials have an ‘agenda’. 

It has serious consequences for those on the receiving end. Having a profile comes with a duty to conduct yourself in a fair and decent manner. To heal division, not promote it. Being provocative may be part of the punditry deal but there is a line that shouldn’t be crossed - and sometimes is. 

Those pundits who pander to the lowest common denominator should have their platforms withdrawn and be shown the door.

This piece is an extract from today’s Rangers Insider newsletter, which is emailed out at 4pm every weekday with a round-up of the day's top stories and exclusive analysis from the Rangers Review team.

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