Hampden handgate all boils down to the men in the middle - now we have a muddle which has made the game a laughing stock

The decision of the compliance officer to retrospectively charge Josh Meekings for his handball, only for a Tribunal to find him not guilty because at least one official saw the incident, just added to the confusion and disbelief which is now being discussed at the highest levels.

Inverness boss John Hughes added further fuel to the fire by suggesting it has opened a can of worms, and predicting there is more to come.

With some of their fans claiming the Hampden handgate incident is further proof there is a conspiracy against them, Celtic sent a letter to the SFA requesting an explanation for the decision - or non-decision - of the match officials.

Conspiracy? At times I thought so, but it can never be proved. The only people who know are the ones who made the decisions.

It's a sorry mess, from which no-one comes out well, and it does nothing for the image of the game in this country.

We still can't attract a sponsor for the league, but we sure can attract a lot of bad publicity. It would be laughable, were it not so serious, because it most likely cost Celtic the chance of a Treble.

And, even after all that has happened since, it still comes down to one thing - the match officials on the day failing to make the correct call.

I'm still amazed that, between them, the three officials closest to the incident could not spot Josh sticking out his right arm to block Leigh Griffiths' header going into the net.

What else could they have been looking at?

Going off on a tangent, why is the additional assistant referee standing on the same side of the goal as the assistant in that half?

Surely it makes more sense for him to be on the other side to get a better view?

But no matter where Alan Muir was positioned on Sunday, I still can't understand how he or referee Steven McLean couldn't see the handball.

I'm not alone, and some fans reckon they did - but chose not to give the penalty and the red card which would have followed. That takes us out of the realms of a mistake and into much more dangerous territory.

For as long as I can remember, people have been convinced Celtic are discriminated against. I know that, as a player and subsequently the manager, there were plenty of decisions went against us which gave credibility to that theory.

Jock Stein fought against any and every injustice he felt was served on the club. I like to think I stood up against anything I thought was wrong, too.

Infamously, I came away from the 1986 Old Firm League Cup final convinced we had been treated fairly by referee Davie Syme - who gave Rangers a very dubious penalty, and sent off Tony Shepherd when he thought he had hit him on the back, only to bring him back on when it was pointed out it was a coin thrown from the crowd - and said we should just pack up and head to England.

Ever since, Celtic have been trying to do just that - so maybe I was ahead of my time.

Davie approached me many years later and admitted he had made a mistake with the penalty award.

I said fine, but pointed out it was a bit late as I had lost my job by then. Seriously, though, the fact the club felt the need to send this letter shows they are fed up with this sort of rough justice, and aware their fans are, too.

I'm sure they didn't expect to get any satisfaction. It's not as though the game is going to be replayed.

The best they can hope for is clarification, preferably in the form of a public explanation for what went wrong, and confirmation of what is going to happen to the officials involved as a consequence.

The SFA were quick to try and bring Josh to task, and I have to say I was surprised his appeal was successful, allowing him to play in the final, as he clearly stuck out his arm.

That decision only further muddies the waters.

He was a lucky man to get away with his handball, and even luckier to win the appeal.

Some say it would have been harsh to suspend him from the final. But if the correct action had been taken on the day, and Inverness had still got through, he would have been banned anyway.

I actually believe he acted as a professional player should by doing all he could to prevent a goal.

The men culpable of not doing their jobs were the officials. The man most at fault was the referee - because any decent one doesn't need the help of assistants to spot something so blatant.

The only thing Josh didn't do was actually catch the ball.

I back the calls for TV replays to be introduced, but reckon it will be some time before they are. I'd go further and follow the example of rugby and allow the conversations between the miked-up officials to be trans-mitted for all to hear. If you have nothing to hide, why not?

In the meantime, the Celtic players have to put it all behind them. It is unhealthy to harbour thoughts that the establishment is against you because that can become a distraction, or even an excuse.

Follow Big Jock's doctrine: Face up to whatever is thrown at you, overcome it, and come out the winner.

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