Officials should be made to declare what sides they support, but it would leave us with a serious lack of options.
Heart of Midlothian v Celtic – cinch Premiership – Tynecastle Park Celtics Greg Taylor right and Celtics Cameron Carter-Vickers speak with match referee Don Robertson after he awards a penalty to Heart of Midlothian during the cinch Premiership match at Tynecastle Park, Edinburgh. Picture date: March 3, 2024. xAndrewxMilliganx 75517886
With the spotlight focused very much on our match officials, Chris Sutton started a debate on whether Scottish referees should declare what side they support.
That is a valid point which has been raised on many occasions in the past and it will always get the same answer, not a chance.
Yes, down south officials are required to lay bare which club they have allegiances to, but England is a much bigger country than ours and they have a wider network of officials up and down the country.
While up here our officials are all from the same part of the country and belong to their own little ‘clique’
I would reckon that 90 per cent of the referees in this country will have allegiances to either Celtic or theRangers. With almost 80 per cent of them having leanings towards the Ibrox club. Thats not me looking at that with green tinted specs, it’s a fact.
John Beaton – Photo Malcolm Mackenzie PSI
It would be nigh on impossible to find enough ‘impartial’ officials to officiate any games involving the big two.
You would also have the possibility that the men in black would replicate the SMSM hacks and declare their love for the likes of Partick Thistle, Clyde, Airdrie and St Mirren.
So asking them to declare their loyalties is a non starter. The only viable option is to go down the road of foreign or even English and Welsh officials.
Sure they will still make mistakes, but at least we will know that they are of the true ‘honest’ variety.
Maybe we should be bringing in referees from abroad? That’s the best solution surely?
Just an Ordinary Bhoy