Qualify that: McGeady holds eight standard grades but his boss claims he couldn't understand the meaning of impartial.
Aiden McGeady will be asked by the Scottish Football Association to explain his comments that Old Firm referee Dougie McDonald was not “impartial” in the recent Old Firm match. The governing body’s general purposes committee will call the player before them to clarify his claims, while his boss, Tony Mowbray, insists McGeady couldn’t have known the meaning of the word.
The winger is the latest Celtic employee to question the official’s performance in the Ibrox fixture, which saw Hoops midfielder Scott Brown red carded in a 1-0 win for Rangers.
Mowbray claimed on Monday that McGeady would have been “baffled” by the word had it been put to him by journalists seeking his viewpoint on the sending off. That argument is unlikely to hold water with SFA officials, who are also mindful of the player’s strong education record and that his father is an English teacher.
“Impartial? I had to think twice about what it means,” Mowbray said. “I think probably Aiden got baffled by the science of it, or the words. If a journalist used the word impartial to him, I’m pretty sure he didn’t know what it meant. You are trying not to smile because you want to write a serious story.
“Don’t say I’m calling him ignorant. That’s how wary I am of talking. I can see the headline now: “Mowbray says McGeady is ignorant.” I’m not going to say that. All I’m saying is I don’t know in what context he was asked the question.
“If it’s a clever journalist sitting there talking about impartiality, he might not have got the context right. I would be surprised if Aiden came out and criticised the official so openly, or the impartiality of them. I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t.”
The Republic of Ireland international, who has eight Standard Grades and only dropped out of school because Celtic offered him a professional contract at 16, was attributed with the quote over the referee’s alleged bias almost a week after the game had finished.
"The comments before the game might have played on his mind,” said McGeady on Saturday. "It's safe to say he wasn't impartial the other day. Of course it didn't look like a red card for Scott Brown."
