IT has been another incredible week in Scottish football and three major incidents have shown our game up once again.

It all started with the SFA – the governing body and the people who run Scottish football.

The situation with the Scottish Cup tie between East Kilbride and Celtic was farcical. It is a tie that might never happen again and, less than a fortnight before the game, they still didn’t have a venue.

You would have thought before they announced it was to be played at New Douglas Park they would have made sure the stadium was available and confirmed it with all relevant parties.

But then you get Hamilton coming out a few days later and saying it can’t be played there because they have other things on and won’t change their plans.

The SFA were rightly hammered for the fall-out and it is only after a meeting the next day that it was finally sorted that the game will be played at Airdrie.

These are the people who run our game, and they made a complete and utter mess of hosting a high-profile tie in their flagship competition.

If that wasn’t bad enough, then the SPFL prove their incompetence and leave St Johnstone furious over the ticket allocation for their League Cup semi-final with Hibernian at Tynecastle.

St Johnstone were told that if they sold their initial allocation then would be given an extra 500 in the Main Stand, but when they asked for them they were told they couldn’t get them due to security concerns and the police.

To make matters worse, the SPFL then go and give the tickets to Hibs fans instead.

So, at a neutral venue, Hibs have three stands and St Johnstone have one. Where is the fairness there? It was a shambles and the SPFL handled it really badly.

Then to top it all off on Monday night we have Andy Halliday sent off for celebrating a goal. Andy was bemused by the decision and Rangers were rightly furious.

He was walking towards his own fans, he was in the middle of the park and all he did was raise his arm with a clenched fist. There was no offensive gesture, no raising his fingers.

But then the linesman decides he has to bring it to the referee’s attention and Andy ends up being booked and therefore sent off.

I watched Sky Sports the next day and all the pundits couldn’t believe what they were watching. It was a laughable decision. But, in Scottish football we just accept it. It is nothing new for us.

Those three things really showed up Scottish football this week and we wonder why fans are staying away in their droves from the game.

When the SFA, the SPFL and the referees are all making a complete mess of it, you have your answer.

These three events made Scottish football a laughing stock once again and we need to do something about it or our game will get worse and worse.

We don’t have the people at the top to take Scottish football forward, and our referees aren’t good enough.

The SPFL is made up of the clubs and they are the ones making the decisions, but they are being taken for their own benefits. Three or four clubs run Scottish football.

People in power here are looking after the interests of their club, not of Scottish football and we are letting ourselves down badly. There is nobody strong enough at the top, there is no leadership in Scottish football.

We need new people at the top at Hampden and the SPFL have got to get a grip. Look at someone like Ann Budge. What an impact she has had at Hearts.

But she tries to get onto the SPFL board and is turned down because they have their own clique there and they don’t want anyone new in.

Stewart Robertson, the Rangers Managing Director, is the same. He did really well at Motherwell and knows the game inside out. He tries to get on and it was ‘sorry, you are not in either’.

That is the petty mindedness that we have got on the SPFL board. We need the right people on the board that will help Scottish football, not who are looking after themselves. Doing the best for your club is not doing the best for our game.

We need all the brains we can get on these committees. We have had these people for so long and nothing is happening.

We need people with foresight and ideas, because the ones there appear to not have a clue at this moment in time and this week was another shambolic episode.

Scottish football is on its knees and it is only going to get worse.

Warburton won't walk away from Rangers rebuilding job

THE idea that Mark Warburton might quit Rangers in the summer if he isn’t given more money to spend is nonsense. I have never heard as much tosh in all my life.

Mark knows fine well what his job is at Rangers and what the budgets are that the board have set out.

His idea of building a team is looking for value. If clubs or players want big money and Rangers have to go over the top, he is not going to go for it and it won’t happen.

He completed deals for Maciej Gostomksi and Harry Forrester earlier in the window and winger Billy King joined on loan from Hearts this week. With the window set to close on Monday, there is still time for more arrivals.

Mark is someone who doesn’t spend a lot of money and looks to splash the cash. Yes, he will have to spend a bit to get the right players in, but don’t expect a series of million pound players to suddenly arrive at Ibrox.

Mark wants value for money and he won’t go over the odds on any deal he does. If he was that type of manager, he would have done those kind of deals before now and got players in with bigger fees and on bigger wages.

He has got a job to do at Rangers and so far he has done a great job in terms of the players he has brought in and the way he has got the team playing. Rangers fans will back him.

Even if we don’t sign anyone else before the end of the window, we still have enough quality to go on and win the league.

The idea that he will leave if he doesn’t get big money to spend is, I think, nonsense.

Bairns are out of Championship battle if Rangers win at Ibrox

FALKIRK will know themselves that if they are to have a chance of winning the Championship this season then they will have to beat Rangers this afternoon.

It is a huge game for both teams, there will be another big crowd at Ibrox and Rangers will have to play well if they are to keep their good run going.

Since losing to Peter Houston’s side a few weeks ago, Rangers have put together a decent run of form.

They have been playing well, scoring goals and have won their last five games in all competitions.

But it will be a tough game against Falkirk this afternoon.

They played some good stuff against Dundee in midweek but they lacked that bit of cutting edge.

Now that they are out of the Scottish Cup, all their attentions will be fixed on the Championship as they look to win promotion this season.

We know they are a good side, they play the game the right way and they are happy to have a go at Rangers.

Bernie McKay scoring against Falkirk

I have said before how impressed I have been with Falkirk this season and they have done well to keep in touch with Rangers and Hibs at the top of the table until this stage in the title race.

But their draw with Livingston last weekend has put a lot of pressure on them heading into the game at Ibrox and they will know they can’t afford to fall even further behind Rangers now.

It will be an open game and that should suit Rangers, rather than teams having everyone back behind the ball and looking to catch us on the break.

If Rangers win, that will rule Falkirk out of the race for the title. They would then be left to fight Hibernian for second place.

Your question for Derek Johnstone

AS we near the end of the transfer window, Steven Williams from Glasgow asked DJ how much was spent on him during his career?

I spent most of my career at Ibrox so I only made one move. When I left Rangers to join Chelsea in 1983, Rangers got £30,000.

That was quite a lot of money back then and it was the only time money was ever exchanged for me.

I didn’t even realise that Chelsea had spent a fee on me until I got there!

If you have a question for Derek, just email him at dj@eveningtimes.co.uk and we’ll print the answer alongside the question.