Brendan Rodgers has said he’s comfortable with John Beaton being the referee on Sunday and went as far as to say he believes John is one of the best referees in the country.
Celtic take on Rangers at Ibrox in what could be a season-defining game for both sets of clubs. The furore kicked off earlier this week when John was appointed as the referee, just days after Brendan had served a one match ban for branding him incompetent during the Hearts game.
However, the Irishman has moved to quell the anger and dismay of some in the Celtic support by giving John a rather surprising character reference.
Speaking at the pre-match press conference, Rodgers said: “These games are for the top referees and I’ve always said John Beaton is one of the top referees in the country,” Rodgers told CeltsAreHere.
“He’s been allocated the game, I’m comfortable with that.
“My point, as I said before is about that one game [Celtic’s 2-0 defeat to Hearts], not talking about John Beaton’s career as a referee, my gripe was on that day.
“They will feel they have to appoint someone who is experienced and John is one of the top referees.”
Many Celtic fans will disagree with Brendan’s take on Beaton and will point to questionable decisions against Celtic and for Rangers during his career to date. There’s also the small matter of a picture of Beaton appearing to be in a Rangers bar, which prompted one Rangers fan group to make a banner in his honour.
Celtic fans are sceptical about John’s appointment. All we can hope for is the referee to have a quiet game and for the players to go and either win or lose the tie.
