Ex-ref on the Celtic goal he disallowed ‘through gritted teeth’ vs Rangers as he reveals hilarious Walter Smith moment
A FORMER Scottish top flight referee has revealed he once disallowed a Celtic Old Firm goal "through gritted teeth".
Steve Conroy, who retired from the game over 10 years ago, officiated his fair share of big matches in Scottish football, including one Glasgow derby fixture.
The Celtic fan was the man in the middle for a 1-1 draw between the two sides in January 2010 - becoming the first non-FIFA ranked whistler to officiate the clash.
And it's one he won't forget as he was heckled by the Hoops support for disallowing a Marc Antoine-Fortune goal, which would have sealed the win for Tony Mowbray's men.
He also failed to red card Gers striker Kyle Lafferty too.
Conroy admits he still gets asked about his decisions on the park that day by his Celtic supporting pals.
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But he insists his performance proves there's no bias from referees towards the clubs they support, despite recent conspiracy theories floating around the Scottish game.
Speaking on BBC's Off the Ball programme, he said: "I don't think it was a blunder but here's one that will maybe kill off the conspiracy theories and what team you support and all the rest of it. Still the one that everybody mentions is me disallowing a Celtic goal at Celtic Park against Rangers.
"My Celtic supporting pals at every opportunity bring them up. Don't tell anybody but I gave that one through gritted teeth I have to say."
The former ref also revealed a hilarious moment during his time on the pitch, when he had to send Rangers boss Walter Smith to the stands.
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Conroy was the only official to ever send off the Ibrox legend during his time in Scotland and it came in a heated exchange during a 0-0 draw with Kilmarnock at Rugby Park in 2009.
Pedro Mendes was shown red for the visitors while Manuel Pascali was given his marching orders for the hosts by Conroy too.
The former whistler claimed the fourth official for that match was a "notorious bluenose".
And the individual immediately regretted pointing out the touchline antics of the Gers head coach.
Conroy said: "I'm still the only one that has sent off Walter Smith and that was at Kilmarnock.
"I won't say who the fourth official was but it was a fourth official who got me to send him to the stands. It was hilarious. The fourth official was a notorious blue nose, and you know how we are all hooked up. He said, 'Stevie, I can't believe I've got you to do this."
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