Hackett Exclusive: SFA to take action on ‘out of order’ St Johnstone tactic v Celtic
St Johnstone could face action from the SFA over a tactic they appeared to use during their win over Celtic, Keith Hackett has said.
The former PGMOL and ex-FIFA official exclusively told Football Insider that the apparent instruction to ballboys not to return the ball quickly after going out of play was “out of order”.
Celtic are on course to claim another Scottish Premiership title this season, as they sit 13 points clear at the top of the table with six games still to be played.
That is despite the fact they have been on the end of some disappointing and at times embarassing results in recent weeks.
As a result, there have been questions about whether manager Brendan Rodgers could be on his way out of Celtic in the near future.
St Johnstone claim a big win in relegation battle
On Sunday (6 April), Rodgers‘ side were on the end of another of those frustrating results, as they lost 1-0 away at the Scottish Premiership’s bottom club, St Johnstone.
The hosts though, did appear to employ some intriguing tactics as they looked to get the better of their title-chasing hosts.
With St Johnstone having gone ahead through Daniels Balodis after just four minutes, that meant they were left with a long time to hold onto their lead.
As the game approached the hour-mark, a member of the club’s staff was spotted by television cameras moving around the side of the pitch, passing on instructions to the ballboys.
It was then suggested that the instruction was to not return the ball quickly if it went out of play, so as to stunt the efforts of Celtic to get back into the game.
While that did ultimately work, Hackett believes that approach could now see St Johnstone face some form of contact from the Scottish FA.
| Celtic last five games | Result |
| St Mirren (A) | Won 5-2 |
| Hibernian (H) | Won 2-0 |
| Rangers (H) | Lost 3-2 |
| Hearts (H) | Won 3-0 |
| St Johnstone (A) | Lost 1-0 |
Keith Hackett reacts to time-wasting tactic vs Celtic
After being asked by Football Insider whether any action could or should be taken against St Johnstone over that move to slow down play, Hackett said:
“First of all this needs to be looked at by the authorities. Then one of the answers is that around the football field, with a multi-ball system operating, just put the spare balls on cones in strategic positions, and don’t have ballboys. Then you haven’t got a problem. So that’s one of the answers.
“But I can remember even in my era, the home team would go one up and the ballboys would disappear under that instruction.
“Initially when the Premier League had the multi-ball system we were fraught with this particular problem of ballboys clearly being instructed to delay the ball returning on to the field of play.
“So the best way is the answer now is have balls positioned in strategic positions on cones and let’s do it that way. He’s way out of order if he’s doing that!
“I can understand it in football. What happens is you’re continually changing the scenarios to meet what is happening.
“So I’ve no doubt the football authorities will be aware of that and they’ll be looking at it. The club’s likely to get a strong letter.”
Following that win, St Johnstone remain bottom of the Scottish top-flight, but are now just five points behind second from bottom Dundee with six games still to play.
This defeat meanwhile, is likely to strengthen calls for Celtic to add to their squad considerably in the summer transfer window as they prepare for another campaign on the hunt for silverware.