When Celtic and Rangers square off this weekend, Willie Collum will be in command of his eighth Old Firm match.
The news that Collum was selected as the man in the middle for Saturday’s title showdown at Parkhead was first revealed by Football Scotlandfirst this morning.
Although he was on VAR for Celtic’s 2-1 victory on December 30, the seasoned referee’s first Glasgow derby of the season caused the Ibrox executives to lose their minds when they failed to penalize Alistair Johnston for a handball even though Abdallah Sima was offside anyhow.
Don Robertson has been named the fourth official, while linesmen David McGeachie and Ross Macleod will support Collum for the 12:30 p.m. kickoff. In the meantime, assistant Graeme Stewart and Steven McLean may have a busy day at Clydesdale House as they are assigned to VAR responsibilities. However, as Glasgow’s top two square off in a heavyweight match, Collum will be the center of attention for the 60,000 spectators inside Celtic Park and the millions more tuning in around the globe.
With two games remaining, Brendan Rodgers’ team would effectively be proclaimed champions with three points, since they would go six ahead of Rangers. However, Philippe Clement’s Treble-chasers would draw level on points with a rare victory for Gers at the east end, opening up a wide-open title contest.
The drama this afternoon looks to be explosive, and Collum will probably have his hands full keeping things under control as tensions are sure to rise. Football Scotland considers this in light of the referee’s track record since overseeing his first derby fourteen years ago.
Controversy surrounded Collum’s debut in the match as he gave Rangers a penalty kick without witnessing Daniel Majstorovic’s contact with Kirk Broadfoot. That day, Kenny Miller’s penalty kick sealed the visitors’ 3-1 win.
Yellow cards: 5 (3 for Celtic and 2 for Rangers)
Red cards: Zero
Penalty kicks awarded: 1 for Rangers (Daniel Majstorovic tackle on Kirk Broadfoot)
Celtic 1-0 Rangers – 28/12/2011 (SPL)
It was Joe Ledley who made the headlines this time as the Welshman’s second-half header saw Celts leapfrog their rivals at the top of the table.
Yellow cards: 4 (1 for Celtic and 3 for Rangers)
Red cards: Zero
Penalty kicks awarded: Zero
Celtic 5-1 Rangers – 10/09/2016 (SPFL)
Collum brandished his first Old Firm red card when Philippe Senderos was correctly sent packing for a handball on a day Moussa Dembele became first player to score a hat-trick in an Old Firm league derby for 50 years.
Yellow cards: 8 (4 for Celtic and 4 for Rangers)
Red cards: 1 (second yellow for Philipe Senderos)
Penalty kicks awarded: Zero
Celtic 5-1 Rangers – 10/09/2016 (SPFL)
Collum brandished his first Old Firm red card when Philippe Senderos was correctly sent packing for a handball on a day Moussa Dembele became first player to score a hat-trick in an Old Firm league derby for 50 years.
Yellow cards: 8 (4 for Celtic and 4 for Rangers)
Red cards: 1 (second yellow for Philipe Senderos)
Penalty kicks awarded: Zero
Celtic 2-0 Rangers – 23/04/2017 (Scottish Cup)
Collum pointed to the spot again but this time Celtic were the beneficiaries after James Tavernier fouled Leigh Griffiths and the Hoops booked their place in the final.
Yellow cards: 5 (2 for Celtic and 3 for Rangers)Red cards: Zero
Penalty kicks awarded: 1 for Celtic (James Tavernier tackle on Leigh Griffiths)
Rangers 2-3 Celtic – 11/03/2018 (SPFL)
Future Scots Tory leader Douglas Ross went viral for screaming “red card!” for an elbow into the face of Alfredo Morelos. It was also the day when ten men essentially won the league as Odsonne Edouard climbed off the bench to curl in a stunning winner to stretch the Hoops’ lead to nine points.
Yellow cards: 6 (3 for Celtic and 3 for Rangers)
Red cards: 1 (straight red for Jozo Simunovic)
Penalty kicks awarded: Zero
Celtic 1-0 Rangers – 02/09/2018 (SPFL)
Steven Gerrard’s first derby game ended in defeat as Olivier Ntcham’s second-half goal proved the difference at Parkhead.
Yellow cards: 6 (2 for Celtic and 4 for Rangers
Red cards: Zero
Penalty kicks awarded: Zero
Rangers 0-1 Celtic – 08/12/2019 (League Cup)
Ten-man Celtic survived an onslaught – including a missed penalty – as a Fraser Forster masterclass secured their tenth domestic trophy in a row. Jeremie Frimpong was sent off for fouling Alfredo Morelos in the box, only for La Gran Muralla to save the Colombian’s resulting effort.
Yellow cards: 5 (2 for Celtic and 3 for Rangers)
Red cards: 1 (straight red for Jeremie Frimpong)
Penalty kicks awarded: 1 for Rangers (Frimpong tackle on Alfredo Morelos)
Celtic 1-1 Rangers – 21/03/2021 (SPFL)
This time Morelos did get on the scoresheet as he ended his four-year wait for a goal against Celtic to move Gers a step closer to an unbeaten title – cancelling out Mo Elyonoussi’s earlier opener.
Yellow cards: 4 (3 for Celtic and 1 for Rangers
Red cards: Zero
Penalty kicks awarded: Zero
Rangers 1-2 Celtic – 03/04/2022 (SPFL)
A rare afternoon where the game passed by without Collum being the centre of attention. Ange Postecolgou’s side came from behind to move a step closer to wrestling back the title from Ibrox.
Yellow cards: 5 (1 for Rangers and 4 for Celtic
Red cards: Zero
Penalty kicks awarded: Zero
Rangers 0-1 Celtic – 30/04/23 (Scottish Cup)
This should have been Collum’s tenth match in charge of the fixture, only for the whistler to pull up injured during his pre-match warm-up. Don Robertson was drafted in to replace him at Hampden as Jota fired Celts into the Scottish Cup Final.
Overall record:
Celtic (24 yellow cards, 2 red cards, 2 penalties against, wins 7)
Rangers (24 yellow cards, 1 red card, 1 penalty against, wins 1)
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