Brendan Rodgers charged by SFA as Celtic manager hands Rangers title advantage

After being charged for an outburst on a refereeing incident over the weekend, Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers may be

sitting in the stands for his team’s April trip to Rangers.

After Korean winger Yang received a red card for a high boot during the first half of Celtic’s eventual 2-0 loss to Hearts,

the Parkhead boss lost his cool.

A penalty awarded to Hearts in the first half after Japanese midfielder Tomoki Iwata handballed likewise irritated Rodgers.

Following his divisive remarks, in which he bemoaned refereeing “incompetence” and identified whistleblower John Beaton,

Brendan Rodgers has now been accused by the SFA under disciplinary rule 72.

This specifically prohibits any player, staff member, or member from “criticising the decision(s) and/or performance(s) of

any or all match official(s) in a way that indicates bias or incompetence on the part of such match official; or (ii) making

remarks about such match official(s) which impinge on his character.”

Brendan Rodgers charged

Remarkably, with March 28th the earliest date an SFA panel are unable to convene on the matter,

should Brendan Rodgers be found guilty he will miss the Old Firm trip to Rangers.

This is because the minimum punishment for being found guilty of such a breach is a two-match ban, which would see the

manager miss Scottish Premiership clashes v Livingston (31/03) and Rangers (07/04).

Celtic – who saw an appeal for the Yang red card thrown out this week – have obviously intimated their intentions to defend their manager.

They’ve also expressed concern over the tribunal’s scheduling, but it’s thought that this is the earliest that

Hampden bosses have been unable to arrange it.

While we have to commend the SFA, given the rhetoric used by Brendan Rodgers in the interviews,

let’s hope they follow through and make this case effectively closed.

All things being equal, it suggests that Celtic will be without their manager in the dugout

when they visit Ibrox come the beginning of April.

We suspect someone might be regretting coming out all guns blazing following the defeat to Hearts,

which saw Celtic blow the chance to go back to the top of the Scottish Premiership.

By including John Beaton in the discussion, Rodgers has been accused of “dog-whistling” to pro-Rangers conspiracy;

others have said he was trying to divert attention from the disappointing outcome.

In any event, the remarks were undoubtedly misguided, and because the minimum penalty is a two-game suspension,

we fully anticipate that the Celtic manager has just hurt his team’s chances of winning the trip to Rangers.

However, given the charges against Brendan Rodgers, we don’t think the tribunal’s scheduling

will dispel the rumours of SFA, Rangers, and Celtic conspiracies.

As things stand, Rangers can move up to five points with a win in the Old Firm match if they win

all of their games leading up to it against Celtic.