AN incident in an otherwise uneventful SPFL Premiership match at last month sprang to mind as the furore over the citing of Josh Meekings intensified.
It occurred as Dundee took on Aberdeen at Dens Park in a game of some significance to a visiting side still harbouring slim hopes of winning the Scottish title.
Derek McInnes's team, leading 1-0 courtesy of an Adam Rooney goal, had a strong claim for a penalty kick shortly before half-time.
A shot by Niall McGinn, the Aberdeen forward, that was destined for the back of the net was blocked by the raised arm of Willie Dyer, the Dundee defender.
The television cameras immediately zoomed in on referee Craig Thomson, whose view had been blocked by several bodies, as he was surrounded by protesting Aberdeen players. "I don't know," he appeared to say as he dismissed their appeals.
So, a side in pursuit of a trophy and leading 1-0 was denied a certain goal by a rival player with his arm in an unnatural position at a crucial moment in a passage of play the officials did not have a clear view of.
Sound familiar? Yep, it was an almost identical scenario to the one that unfolded in the Scottish Cup semi-final between Inverness Caledonian Thistle and Celtic at Hampden eight days ago.
Why, then, was Dyer not subsequently served with a one match ban for his actions?
The fact that Meekings, the Inverness defender, was issued with a notice of complaint by Tony McGlennan, the SFA compliance officer, for a hand ball has alarmed and angered many in the game.
Even Jim Boyce, the FIFA vice-president, weighed in to the debate that ensued. He described the decision as being "entirely wrong" and also of setting a "dangerous precedent".
Yet, McGlennan was quite entitled to take action under the guidelines laid down in this country. "The rule itself is quite clear," said his predecessor Vincent Lunny. "It is any sending off offence missed by match officials. He had to take the case to the panel."
Sure, the official explanation given by the SFA on Friday for the case being thrown out stated the "incident but not the actual alleged sending off offence had been seen". But Donald Rumsfeld would have been proud of such obfuscation.
Of far greater concern than the centre half being cited for a hand ball is that no other Scottish footballer had been hauled up for such an infringement before.
Was this the first time it had happened since the rules were amended over two years ago to allow video evidence to be reviewed if the referee missed an offence? There must surely be many incidences of it taking place. Aberdeen players and supporters would certainly say there have been.
The Pittodrie club ended up drawing 1-1 in that game at Dens Park and their slender chances of catching Celtic at the top of the Premiership table suffered a setback. The intervention by Dyer was far from inconsequential.
Perhaps Thomson or one of his assistants saw the infraction and decided it was not worthy of a penalty and a red card. As our referees no longer explain themselves publicly that is unclear. But have there really not been any other cases?
That retrospective action for a hand ball offence was only taken for the first time after a game in which Celtic suffered an injustice - the day after it emerged the Parkhead club had written a letter seeking clarification on what had happened - has done untold damage to the reputation of the disciplinary process in this country and cast serious doubt on its integrity.
There is a view held by many in Scottish football that Celtic in general and their chief executive Peter Lawwell in particular have undue influence on the governing body. It is a boring, depressing, flawed, laughable, pathetic, tedious and wearying narrative.
However, McGlennan has left both himself and his organisation open to accusations of favouritism by only taking action on this hand ball offence when there have been numerous others he could have punished in the past.
The SFA compliance officer must not be influenced by how high profile a game an incident takes place in is, how great the adverse publicity after it is or how big the club to suffer as a consequence is.
Unfortunately, the widespread perception of this whole sorry affair in Scottish football is that he has been.
AND ANOTHER THING
NOT since a header by Rangers left back Lee Wallace crossed the line in an Old Firm game at Celtic Park in 2011 has a game of football in Scotland supplied such ammunition to those who champion the greater use of technology in refereeing.
Having an official viewing video replays of the action in the Scottish Cup semi-final between Inverness Caledonian Thistle and Celtic at Hampden would have ensured a correct decision was made on the Josh Meekings hand ball almost instantly.
A video referee would also have spared us days of tiresome controversy. Sadly, the introduction of such an official is not imminent in the beautiful game. It cannot, though, come soon enough.
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