Livingston manager Marvin Bartley has dismissed conspiracy theories that Celtic and Rangers receive favorable treatment from match officials. The debate has been raging after several late goals were scored by the Old Firm in league and cup matches, with some suggesting that the officials are showing bias.
Bartley, who has been in Scottish football for over 10 years, said: “I could never be that paranoid. Time added on happens in every game and not for one second do I think there is anything untoward going on where the match officials are concerned. I’ve been in situations where we’ve been on the receiving end of a late goal, and it’s tough, but that’s just part of the game.”
He added: “Rangers were up against it on and off the park when they came to our place last September, so I expected them to put everything into the time added on. Likewise Celtic when they were playing at home and brought on a quality player in Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain late in the game to see what he could do to help them out of a spot.”
Bartley knows that late goals can have a negative impact on his players, but he’s trying to focus on the positives. “It’s then that you have to look for the positives out of a negative situation. The first is you took well-paid players from big clubs all the way in those games. When Livi were in the Championship last season, we were one of the big clubs and we would be the aggressor in time added on.”
Livingston are currently facing relegation, and Bartley is aware that their upcoming match against Rangers is crucial. “I have to say it doesn’t concern me in the slightest which team eventually wins the league because my job is to make sure my team stays in the league,” he said.
Despite the challenges, Bartley is taking a philosophical approach to the situation. “If we’d been sitting in seventh or eighth place in the league table, I wouldn’t be talking to you as the manager of Livingston, that’s the truth of the matter. This is now about me as a person and what I can do to prove we are not in an impossible situation.”
Bartley is looking for his team to show the same determination and resilience they showed against Dundee last weekend, when they came back from 2-0 down to earn a point. “That mindset is what I’m looking for against Rangers, and it won’t bother me in the slightest if there’s time added on.”