hackwatching

Looks like the Huns' fragile sensibilities are in danger of degenerating to even lower depths of rabid delusion. 'TIME TO GIVE THE REF A BREAK' - Mad Fernando tells chief bluenose at the Evening Times, Darrell King (26/12/2002). 'RANGERS bad boy Fernando Ricksen today leapt to the defence of Scotland's referees. The fiery Dutchman - sent off four times in two years - has amazingly backed the whistlers as they come under heavy fire for a spate of recent bad decisions'

After all, the Huns have been so hard-done-by when it comes to bad refereeing decisions recently, haven't they? 'Ricksen was red-carded by ref Stuart Dougal for a challenge on Charlie Miller 12 days ago at Ibrox and was banned for last Sunday's come-from-behind SPL triumph over Partick Thistle'. Unsurprsingly the Hun propraganda fails to give mention to the multitude of opponents sent off in Rangers fixtures this season or even the United player who was also red carded by MIB Dougal.

The next day however, and Whoops! take that back immediately! The tabloids were full of reports of sub-standard and inadequate refereeing as Rangers lose 1:0 to Motherwell and are sensationally not awarded a penalty. Not only that, but 'Well finish the game with eleven players on the park.

Eck and Amoruso are allowed to expand at length in the Daily Ranger and Scottish Hun on the poor standard of refereeing currently being witnessed in Scotland. Eck and Lorenzo waffle on, claiming that the big Greaser was fouled by Lehman in the build-up to Motherwell's goal with Amadiddy quoted as saying 'The referees have been making some really strange decisions recently'. That's right Amo, what with Partick Thistle players getting sent off for breathing too heavily on Australian hard-men, Dutch defenders at Ibrox conceding corners by punching the ball out of play and Rangers' key defensive midfielder in contention for the European Golden Boot award due to the avalanche of penalties awarded to his team... I'd have to agree with you.

Interestingly, nowhere in these lengthy articles is the word 'paranoia' mentioned. The next day, in an example of paranoia excelling anything ever witnessed from Celtic fans over the years, the Daily Ranger carried a double-page spread which revealed (exclusively no doubt) that Willie Young - the referee at Fir Park - sent Lorenzo off in his third league game for Rangers back in September 1998. Quite what this has to do with the price of cheese is not explained, but the obvious implication is that MIB Young (if not all Scottish refs) have been carrying out a cruel vendetta on the hard-done-by Amoruso.

Perhaps there is something in this claim as Young's statistic of having red-carded one Hun in five years is well above the average for a Scottish Mason in Black.

TONY BANANAS