“We need Ange to say it”: St Mirren boss wants Celtic to take lead on rule change

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St Mirren manager Stephen Robinson has spoken out on the current guidance surrounding the handball rule, believing it has caused big issues of late.

Robinson reckons the rule is frustrating for every manager in the Scottish Premiership and has called on Ange Postecoglou and other managers at more high-profile clubs to lead the way on seeking change.

Speaking ahead of tonight’s trip to Celtic Park, Robinson said [Scottish Daily Mail print edition 18/01, page 73]: “The handball rule is incredible. You see penalties not given for something that’s very obvious and then you see them given for the most innocuous things ever. But it’s the rule itself. It’s not the referees.

“Hopefully, the people that make the rules can see the handball rule is causing massive issues. It caused me an issue the other night away to Hearts but it’s not a gripe about St Mirren. The handball rule is frustrating for every single manager in the league.

“I saw a penalty against Ricki Lamie at Motherwell which I couldn’t believe was given. And then you’ve seen more obvious ones that aren’t given, without mentioning any particular ones.

“It’s something that we have to look at it. Nobody listens to me, though. We need Ange to say it, we need Michael [Beale] to say it or Robbie [Neilson].

“Maybe because we are smaller clubs we don’t have as much power for people to listen to us. But it’s happened to the bigger clubs as well and we’ve had the managers from the bigger clubs say the same thing.”

The Scottish FA have already confirmed their professional game board will convene with top-flight clubs to seek consensus on the IFAB guidelines and present feedback to the rules body.

Robinson’s comments are interesting because if you believe certain pundits or sections of the Scottish media, Ange speaking out on these issues isn’t welcome. But clearly, amongst his own peers, it is.

That’s the case for Celtic supporters too, who have enjoyed Postecoglou going public on his frustrations with handball decisions and the use of VAR in our matches.

All we can hope is that the Bhoys manage to avoid any more drama in the meantime, while issues with the rule across football are sorted out.

In other news, Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou reveals when he expects Tomoki Iwata to be available.