The Scottish Refereeing Controversy
This week the Scottish FA announced that they are putting a plan in place which would see Irish referees officiate Scottish league games this weekend. The action comes in response to the expected strike of Scotland’s grade one referees which will affect around 20 games in their Premier League and First Division. But what has caused such extreme action and how has it come to this?
The Scottish Referee’s Union agreed unanimously to strike in response to fears for their personal safety and the amount of criticism that they have received in recent months.
The pivotal moment in this saga relates to a moment on the 17th October when referee Dougie McDonald awarded Celtic a penalty against Dundee United, and then changed his mind. The decision wasn’t questioned. “The committee reached a unanimous view that the overturning of the original decision was correct” said the SFA in a statement. But what caused problems was the way that McDonald reported the incident to Celtic manager Neil Lennon after the game. McDonald claimed after the match that he was encouraged to over-turn the decision on the advice of his assistant Steven Craven who had called him over to discuss the incident. However the event was investigated further by the Scottish Football Association after linesman Steven Craven resigned from his post as a result of how the incident was handled.
In a press conference, SFA chief executive Stewart Regan announced that when McDonald gave his account of the events to the FA during the investigation his story had changed. Rather than being called over and encouraged to change his mind, McDonald went to speak to Craven ‘unprompted’ to ask whether or not he thought Dundee United’s goalkeeper has touched the ball. In regards to McDonald’s altered account of events, Regan said: “If you want to mark it down as a lie, mark it down as a lie.”
While the decision didn’t change the outcome of the game (Celtic went on to win anyway) the whole affair has left a sour taste in the mouths of Scottish football fans and has brought into question the integrity of officials. This had led to Scottish MPs calling for referee’s to declare their footballing alliances in order to protect the authority of the referee.
Aside from their game against Dundee United, Celtic have had a large part to play in the refereeing controversy. After their 3-1 Old Firm defeat, Celtic were angered that Rangers were awarded a penalty and that Lee McCulloch wasn’t sent off. As a result Celtic wrote to the Scottish FA asking for referee Willie Collum to explain his decisions, and reportedly this isn’t the first time the FA has received such a letter from Celtic. Amid all the fuss, referee Collum received threatening phone calls at his family home. But as former Scottish referee Kenny Clark explained, Celtic’s enquiries only act to damage refereeing integrity further: “If a decision is given in Celtic’s favour, people will inevitably say that’s because Celtic have been making complaints. Should a decision be made against Celtic, again they will say that’s because of the complaints Celtic have been making. It puts the match officials into something of a no-win situation.”
But of course it isn’t only Celtic who are putting referees under pressure, and it’s the increasing level of criticism and threats to themselves and their families that have caused the decision to strike. The Scottish Senior Referee’s Association announced: “statements questioning honesty and integrity have been aimed across refereeing in general and have led to an unprecedented level of abuse and genuine concerns for safety and for the ability to carry out normal family and business commitments.”
Refereeing modern football is increasingly difficult and Hamilton manager Billy Reid has voiced his concerns over the the pressure referee’s are under: “I feel for him (McDonald), but they do make mistakes. Maybe refs do that too many times, but it’s maybe due to the pressure they’re now being put under. I think it has to calm down a little for the sake of everybody.” – but of course it is easier to call for calm when it’s not your team on the wrong end of this decision.
Whether or not the strike will improve the working conditions of referees is debatable. Referee’s shouldn’t be sheltered from criticism, but the levels that it has reached is indefensible. But then it should also be remembered that the jobs of players and managers rest on the decisions of officials, and in these situations emotions and passion will be running high. There is no way that pressure in football can be relieved, and as a result referees will remain under the same scrutiny as before.
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