SPL and SFA in a real mess over referee strike threat

A meeting took place yesterday evening between the Scottish Football Association and the Scottish Senior Football Referees’ Association in an attempt to avert the threatened strike this weekend by Scotland’s referees. At the time of writing the outcome of that meeting is not known.

Balancing

The Scottish FA have a difficult balancing act to perform because whilst they have a duty to get this weekend’s games played, they must also take the complaints of the referees very seriously. If referees are saying that they feel threatened both on the pitch and in their private lives, and they are also saying that clubs are challenging their integrity, then things need to be sorted out right now.

SFA chief executive Stewart Regan told the BBC

“The primary focus is to make sure the fixtures are officiated. We are looking around Europe, talking to a number of associations and trying to put a contingency plan in place. In the first instance we are keen to understand what we could do as an association to make sure the games could go ahead this weekend.”

Complaints

Regan was keen to stress that he was taking the complaints of the referees seriously.

“We are trying to put a plan in place to support referees. We recognise that they are going through a very difficult time. We are hopeful that talks will be fruitful this week and that we will come to a satisfactory conclusion and that they can officiate this weekend. It seems it is more about making a public statement and withdrawing their labour this weekend. But we hope that if we can give them some assurances about support going forward we can get them to rescind that decision.”

The referees claim their personal safety is under threat, both on the pitch and from fans. This, they say, is as a result of criticism from clubs over decisions made during recent matches.

Notable

The most notable incident came when referee Dougie McDonald admitted to lying to Celtic manager Neil Lennon about how he and his assistant referee Steven Craven came to overturn a penalty decision for Celtic against Dundee United on 17th October. The SFA subsequently criticised McDonald for his handling of the whole incident. Celtic have led the calls for McDonald to resign.

Whilst the integrity of this referee can maybe justifiably be questioned, the main issue in relation to that area is the call by a Scottish MP, backed by Celtic, for all referees in Scotland to be forced to reveal their allegiance to a particular team.

Celtic are reportedly keen for the strike to go ahead as they believe it will force UEFA to investigate the refereeing standards in the SPL. They may be disappointed as UEFA have said that this is a purely domestic matter and that they will not get involved.

Head

Head of the Scottish FA, George Peat said,

“We will do everything we possibly can to broker a deal before the weekend because it’s obviously important that officials are on duty. We do not condone the strike but we must sympathise with the grievances of the referees.”

He went on to make a statement that has been seen as a veiled criticism of Celtic.

“The behaviour of some people in recent weeks has tarnished the image of Scottish football. It has demeaned the game. The climate of inference, innuendo and conspiracy theories must stop.”

Believed

It is believed that the SFA have contacted Ireland, Iceland and Wales to see if they could provide officials for the weekend’s games if the strike goes ahead.

Scottish Premier League chief executive Neil Doncaster has been careful to distance himself from the dispute.

“It’s for the SFA to deal with the referees and try to resolve the issue. If the situation cannot be resolved and the strike goes ahead, we will back the contingency plans.”

Whatever happens, this current controversy hardly helps the standing and credibility of the SPL which is at a pretty low ebb anyway. It is a real mess and one that needs to be dealt with quickly and robustly.