Scottish football referees are preparing to strike at the weekend amid claims that the levels of abuse they receive from fans is becoming intolerable.
The Scottish senior football programme is facing the possibility of disruption on the weekend of 27-28 November as the country’s senior soccer referees plan to take strike action. The strike follows increasing concern among the sport’s officials as to the level of abuse they say they are receiving from supporters and, should it go ahead, will affect matches in the Scottish Premier League, Scottish Football League and Scottish Cup.
The Proposed Strike and Its Implications
The reasons for the proposed strike were given in a statement issued on behalf of the officials by their professional body, the Scottish Senior Football Referees’ Association. The SSFRA statement (quoted on STV 22 November 2010) recognised that there would be a significant impact on football but was also clear in its support, noting that ‘that the incessant and adverse nature of recent comments on referees has placed intolerable pressures on personal and professional lives’.
The response of football’s governing body in Scotland, the Scottish Football Association, while not unsympathetic to the referees’ position, nevertheless criticised the proposed action as ‘not helpful’ and at the time of writing the SFA was engaged in discussions with referees from countries other than Scotland with the intention of ensuring that the weekend’s schedule would go ahead as planned (SFA website).
Background: The Dougie McDonald Affair
Although referees in Scotland, like those elsewhere, have long been the focus of criticism, the current situation has its roots in recent events during a match between Dundee United and Celtic at Tannadice, United’s home ground. Referee Dougie McDonald reversed his decision to award the Glasgow side a penalty after consultation with linesman Steven Craven, provoking criticism from both managers.
McDonald later admitted that he had exaggerated his assistant’s influence to cover up the fact that he had been mistaken in his original decision. This admission resulted in extensive criticism of McDonald, claims of a cover-up by Craven followed by his resignation, and the initiation of an inquiry into the matter by the SFA. The storm of criticism, not just from those directly involved, precipitated the referees’ decision to strike.
Refereeing Issues in Scotland
Although it was Dougie McDonald’s error and the subsequent lie told to cover it up which led directly to the threat of strike action, the situation has been simmering for years. Across the world referees face abuse by fans: but in Scotland, the sectarian element, along with its small league dominated by two teams Celtic (, traditionally Catholic) and Rangers (traditionally Protestant), has made the situation more intense than elsewhere.
In the goldfish bowl which is Scottish football (the ‘Old Firm’ play each other several times each season, each encounter emotionally charged both on and off the pitch) being a referee is a difficult job. A few minutes spent on fans’ forums will bear that out, as referees are accused in the strongest terms of favouring either Celtic or Rangers, or even favouring anyone but Celtic or Rangers.
Celtic’s Gary Hooper, recently expressed the view that referees deliberately give decisions against the Old Firm (STV); and the abuse which he received from fans was given by Steven Craven, the linesman in the Dougie McDonald affair, as the one of the reasons for his decision to offer his resignation as a top-flight official.
In 1999 referee Hugh Dallas had the windows of his home smashed following an Old Firm game during which he had been injured by a coin thrown from the crowd. Scottish referees can make no mistake, display no lapse of judgement without laying themselves open to criticism by players and managers and abuse from fans. It is against this background that the country’s referees are taking action.
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