Inside a hectic first 48 hours for ex-Man Utd chief exec
It wasn’t like this at Manchester United. It’s possible the name Omar Berrada has not settled into the public consciousness yet.
Berrada is the current Manchester United CEO and although he’s already had to sack a manager as well as a sporting director, he might not yet mean too much to the average Scottish football fan.
Patrick Stewart, on the other hand, is already making a name for himself. Berrada’s predecessor at Manchester United didn’t have it easy at Old Trafford. But he has experienced a quickfire introduction to life in the Glasgow goldfish bowl. It trumps even Manchester for intensity, particularly when your first day as Rangers chief executive happens to be the day after a controversial Old Firm cup final.
Stewart saw any hopes of settling quietly into his job as CEO vanish soon after Liam Scales tugged back Vaclav Cerny at the edge of the penalty box in Sunday’s Premier Sports Cup final. That wasn’t the problem; the issue was that referee John Beaton awarded a foul rather than a penalty and received no indication from his VAR team that there was a need to check the decision, which there clearly was.
Celtic's Liam Scales (R) pulls down Rangers' Vaclav Cerny at the edge of the penalty box during the Premier Sports Cup final. (Photo by Craig Williamson / SNS Group)Celtic's Liam Scales (R) pulls down Rangers' Vaclav Cerny at the edge of the penalty box during the Premier Sports Cup final. (Photo by Craig Williamson / SNS Group)
Celtic's Liam Scales (R) pulls down Rangers' Vaclav Cerny at the edge of the penalty box during the Premier Sports Cup final. (Photo by Craig Williamson / SNS Group) | SNS Group
Wherever Stewart was watching the game on his last day before officially clocking on at Ibrox, he would have known at this moment that things were about to get very hectic for him. There have been many consequences of this hard-to-explain refereeing oversight. One is that Hampden VAR referee Alan Muir and his assistant Frank Connor will be conspicuous by their absence from games this weekend while serving ‘suspensions’.
They ought to have stepped in to guide Beaton, who enjoyed a good game otherwise. What is the point of VAR, over two years after it was introduced into Scottish football, if not to correct such obvious errors? Rangers’ complaints are valid but they are not alone in their unhappiness. Every week there are similar examples of clubs feeling hard done by. There was one at last season’s League Cup final, with Rangers benefitting after Aberdeen were denied a penalty in the closing moments of the Ibrox side’s 1-0 win after Duk was felled by ‘keeper Jack Butland.
Stewart has been robbed of a day spent arranging his desktop accessories in his new office. By 6pm on Monday night news emerged that the new chief executive had already been on the phone to Ian Maxwell, his opposite number at the SFA, to request, in time honoured tradition, “clarification” over the non-awarding of the penalty. Stewart had already spoken to Willie Collum, the SFA's Head of Referee Operations, and it wasn’t merely to introduce himself.
It’s understood the SFA are perplexed why Rangers let it be known that they have contacted the governing body seeking clarification why no penalty was awarded when the clarification requested had already been received that same afternoon, via Collum. The former referee is preparing for a recording of the VAR Review Show, with the latest edition of this monthly programme conveniently scheduled for this week. The programme features matchday audio between on-field referees and the VARs in Clydesdale House.
Referee John Beaton during the Premier Sports Cup final between Celtic and Rangers at Hampden. (Photo by Craig Foy / SNS Group)Referee John Beaton during the Premier Sports Cup final between Celtic and Rangers at Hampden. (Photo by Craig Foy / SNS Group)
Referee John Beaton during the Premier Sports Cup final between Celtic and Rangers at Hampden. (Photo by Craig Foy / SNS Group) | SNS Group
Collum will accept the officials got it wrong on this one. It’s understood Beaton was dismayed not to be told the incident had occurred on the 18-yard line and was therefore a penalty. The Key Match Incident Panel is also expected to review the incident later this week.
The controversy certainly isn’t being brushed under the carpet, in the way it once might once have been. Some would suggest that this is what is happening with regards to scenes in Glasgow city centre before and after the game, when fans from both Rangers and Celtic fought running battles. In addition, and despite warnings from the SPFL and Police Scotland against smuggling pyrotechnics into the match, the pryo displays at either end of Hampden saw the start of another match at the national stadium delayed. Little has been heard from either Rangers or Celtic on these matters.
Stewart has given an interview – his first since joining Rangers – but concentrated on less specific details. He did confirm he had been in contact with the SFA about the “non-awarding” of the penalty on Sunday. Speaking to Rangers TV, he described how he felt walking into Ibrox at the start of his tenure.
“I have been working in football for 25 years, I have been fortunate to work at Manchester United for 18 of these years, but the goosebumps I felt when I walked into the Bill Struth main stand for the first time was unlike anything I have experienced,” he said. “You can feel the heritage.” Compelled to contact the SFA on day one, he clearly already feels the weight of what is expected from him as well.