BOBBY Madden is a Rangers supporter who once owned a season ticket at Ibrox.

How do we know this? The internet told us. The same place where we’ve been informed Elvis is alive and works in a Buenos Aires bar, the moon landings were staged and really took place in a quarry just off the M74 and ET lives in Roswell.

Madden is a Scottish football referee so, naturally, his nose is blue and therefore on Sunday will give every decision the way of Rangers to make sure Celtic don’t stretch 13 points ahead in the league.

And afterwards, he and John Beaton, his fellow ref, will go for a few beers in Nacho Novo’s pub.

This is all fun and games except for one thing. Pesky facts.

There is not a shred of evidence to support the notion that Madden was at any time a regular at a ground in Scotland. Even if he was a Rangers fan as a kid, his Saturdays would have been busy as he moved up the ranks of refereeing before getting to the big time.

The Herald:

READ MORE: Scotland need a dream team like Walter Smith, Tommy Burns and Ally McCoist

That’s how it works. Would-be refs and assistants start at the very bottom, such as amateur football and the like, then it is the juniors, lower leagues before getting their chance to prove themselves in the Premiership.

They don't get many weekends off.

Beaton didn’t have a good Old Firm game in December. He missed a few fouls committed by Rangers players. Then a picture appeared of him - the interweb again - which falsely stated it was taken within hours of the game at Ibrox and in a ‘Rangers pub.’ Utter nonsense.

Beaton was the fourth official at Dens Park a few weeks ago when he held up the board to show six extra minutes were to be added. Celtic scored a winner in this generous injury time. Guess who the referee was?

Celtic have won every game in which Madden has taken charge this season. The last time they lost when he was referee was back in December 2015: a home defeat to Motherwell which was all about Ronny Deila’s team falling apart and absolutely nothing to do with a dodgy free-kick decision.

The last time he took change of this fixture was the Scottish Cup semi-final last season when Celtic won 4-0, were awarded two penalties and Rangers had a player, Ross McCrorie, was sent off. He got every one of those right.

The Herald:

READ MORE: Paedophile Adam Johnson should be given chance to play football again, says Gordon Strachan

He's the worst conspirator since Guy Fawkes.

Madden made a mistake two seasons ago when he failed to award Celtic an injury time penalty in a derby. He said at the time that he didn’t know 100 per cent if Clint Hill hadn’t touched the ball when Leigh Griffiths was clean through on goal and inside the penalty box.

He got that wrong. It was a penalty. And that is where so many feel their paranoia is justified. From that one incident.

On Twitter, Celtic fan Gavin Docherty, his picture of him presumably on holiday wearing the home strip, said: “Bobby Madden ref for Sunday... so will be selling my ticket cos I already know we will lose because of cheating, face value no more no less.”

This was followed by Robert WATP, a man so staunch he’s in an England strip, who countered: “Scott Brown can stamp on whoever he wants on Sunday since Bobby Madden is the referee.”

Wow and wow.

Madden is arguably Scotland’s best official. The players like him. He talks to them during games rather than hand out lectures. Managers and players call him ‘Bobby’ when referencing him in interviews.

The Herald:

READ MORE: Pittman happy to extend Livingston contract after playing waiting game with Aberdeen

He is one of the few to come out in support of referees wearing microphones and body cameras, as they do in rugby, to offer his view of the game.

Madden is one of the more lenient officials, which mean he won’t show a card when others would for a foul early in the game, preferring to have a quiet word. There's nothing wrong with that.

However, he's now afraid to make big decisions such sending off Alfredo Morelos and Scott McKenna at Pittodrie when he took a moment before showing both the red card – which he was right to do.

If Madden, who is 40 and a cancer survivor, misses something on Sunday it will be because he’s one of those human beings and, this goes for all officials, football is too fast for just one man to catch every incident, which then gets poured over for days.

Every set of supporters has a section who believe everyone and everything is against their team. But to accuse any professional referee of being a cheat, and to do it behind a false name, is both dreadful and cowardly.

The only bias here comes from those keyboard thumpers unwilling to accept truth when blatant lies are best for their agenda.

Bobby Madden is a good referee who on Sunday will take on the most difficult job in football. He deserves our respect and sympathy. Not lazy and false innuendo.