Ref or end ‘em: Scottish football shrouded in refereeing controversy

Nani’s recent goal for Manchester United against Tottenham caused a frisson of controversy in England. But you think Mark Clattenburg has it bad? Try refereeing Celtic or Rangers in Scotland. Making his debut for Just Football we welcome William Heaney who has more:

How’s this for a job description?

Have to be honest and above reproach. Must be prepared for people you have never met to verbally abuse you, question your integrity, and make judgements about you based on your religious beliefs and the school you attended. Should also accept that your every decision will be analysed for weeks afterwards, and be ready for the occasional death threat aimed at you and your family.

It doesn’t sound attractive, does it? Welcome to the glamorous world of the Scottish referee.

The recent Old Firm game was Willie Collum’s first, but he probably wishes he hadn’t bothered. Despite a decent first hour, Collum’s decision to wrongly award Rangers a penalty will be remembered as his main contribution to the match. He ruled that Kirk Broadfoot had been brought down in the Celtic box, despite replays clearly showing no contact had been made by any opposing player.

Collum’s poor positioning at the time of the incident was part of the problem. He had his back to the play and it’s doubtful whether he seen any of the incident. Yet he still decided to award a spot-kick.

Kenny Miller converted the penalty to clinch a 3-1 victory for Rangers, and while we’ll never know whether Celtic would have come back from 2-1 down, Collum’s decision helped to put the game out of their reach. Celtic have written to the SFA questioning the penalty award, but some of their fans adopted a slightly less subtle approach by threatening Collum’s life during a telephone call to his home.

Although Scottish referees are not chased around the pitch by angry mobs of players and fans, as is the case in some countries, life is becoming increasingly difficult for any official involved in a match between Scotland’s big two. They have to contend with increasing media scrutiny as well as the extreme hatred that has always existed between the two clubs and their fans.

Perhaps it’s time to take the pressure off the local officials and bring in foreign referees for Old Firm contests. There are obvious benefits: a ref from the likes of Italy, Spain or England would know all about dealing with high profile players and matches, in front of large crowds, they would also feel free to make decisions without the repercussions that a home referee could experience.

Officials from other nations would be shown more respect as they would be considered to be genuinely impartial, in the beginning anyway. Celtic fans in particular would welcome such a move as over the years many have believed (and still do) that as a group, Scottish referees favour Rangers over their side. Their argument has been supported by a number of incorrect decisions going against Celtic in Old Firm games over the past year.

This supposed ‘paranoia’ even extends to former players and managers with John Hartson and Billy McNeill now believing there is some sort of conspiracy against their former club, following Collum’s performance. Even new striker Gary Hooper has echoed similar comments.

Importing referees for high-risk matches is nothing new. When Al-Ahly and Zamalek meet in Egypt, the man in the middle is usually European. Recently, Levski Sofia in Bulgaria requested that matches against Litex Lovech are handled by someone from abroad.

The obvious downside to such a radical change is the threat to the career prospects of Scottish referees. If they aren’t deemed to be capable of dealing with biggest match in their own country, their chances of being awarded top Champions League or international fixtures are slim.

Willie Collum probably isn’t thinking too far ahead in his refereeing career at the moment. His main aim will be restoring his reputation. Given his error, he would normally be public enemy number one – but he’s not.

Step forward Dougie McDonald. The week before the Old Firm game, McDonald awarded Celtic a second-half penalty against Dundee United at Tannadice, after ruling that Gary Hooper had been felled by United keeper Dusan Pernis. However, after a discussion with his assistant Steven Craven, McDonald changed his mind and decided on a drop-ball. Celtic not surprisingly were outraged and again complained to the SFA, though they did manage a last-minute winner from Hooper.

Things only really kicked-off after the SFA investigated. Craven resigned and the governing body then concluded that McDonald had lied in his post-match report. The referee claims he did so to protect Craven who, in a Sunday newspaper, claims McDonald and Head of Referees Hugh Dallas (who has all sorts of previous with Celtic), tried to initiate a cover-up.

Amazingly, the SFA continue to back McDonald, who is ignoring calls for his resignation, saying: “I am one of the country’s top referees and I am a strong character.”

He’ll need to be. How he expects to have any credibility after admitting to lying in a match report is beyond belief. Any time McDonald takes to the field he will be under huge pressure. The next controversial decision he makes will result in an onslaught from players, fans and media. McDonald’s position is untenable – he has to walk.

The standard and reputation of Scottish referees is at an all-time low. While shocking mistakes and incompetence are nothing new, an admission of dishonesty that goes virtually unchallenged is even more worrying.

William Heaney is a new contributor to Just Football focussing on Scottish football. Read more from him at his own blog Football Futbol Fitba.

(pic via marc5000 on Flickr)

Glasgow Celtic, Glasgow Rangers, Referees and Rules, Scotland, Scottish Premier League