Rae calls for Reid to apologise to Scottish refereeing fraternity

[ian1964 10,431]

David Rae, the Queen of the South chairman, last night called for Celtic counterpart John Reid to apologise to the Scottish refereeing fraternity in order to salvage his side�s ALBA Challenge Cup final appearance.

 

Queens are scheduled to take on Ross County at McDiarmid Park in the glamour game of the Scottish lower divisions this Sunday, but the match has been thrown into chaos in the 48 hours since Scotland�s Category 1 referees voted to take strike action this weekend.

 

The referees in question have been careful to deny that their industrial action was in response to the actions of any particular club, but Rae for one suspects the comments of Reid at last weekââ?¬â?¢s annual general meeting ââ?¬â?? where he called for Dougie McDonald to resign, and suggested that all referees should be forced to declare their childhood allegiances ââ?¬â?? were at the root of the problem.

 

ââ?¬Å?Iââ?¬â?¢m a bit concerned about it [the cup final going ahead] and I want to have a word with George Peat [sFA president],ââ?¬Â Rae said.

 

ââ?¬Å?The SFA appoint the refs and itââ?¬â?¢s their job to find officials to run that game on Sunday. Itââ?¬â?¢s an all-ticket game and everything has been organised. It needs to be sorted by Wednesday. You have to think about the hospitality, because there are a whole lot of things involved.

 

ââ?¬Å?I have some sympathy for the referees,ââ?¬Â he added. ââ?¬Å?There has been too much criticism thrown at them. Last week, a chairman of one of the biggest clubs in Scottish football came out with some comments that were out of order.

 

ââ?¬Å?He went over the top and I think the referees and Hugh Dallas are due an apology. He is an ex-member of Parliament and they are used to slagging each other off all the time. That is politics but when you are chairman of a football club you have to respect officials, especially the referees.

 

ââ?¬Å?This is not just going to affect Queen of the South against Ross County on Sunday. I have never known anything like it in the history of the game.ââ?¬Â

 

The SFA have the power to import foreign officials or promote lower-grade referees in order to ensure that their fixtures are fulfilled, and Rae last night said he would accept any referee that the association deemed suitable for the match.

 

ââ?¬Å?I would accept any official appointed by the SFA,ââ?¬Â Rae said. ââ?¬Å?But George Peat has got to come out of his ivory tower and speak to clubs like us because without the football clubs, he and the others wouldnââ?¬â?¢t have jobs.

 

ââ?¬Å?But letââ?¬â?¢s face it, the referees have taken terrific abuse. They are human beings and canââ?¬â?¢t get every decision right. I believe they are the most honest guys. We need to get behind them. Itââ?¬â?¢s time to sit around the table and talk ââ?¬â?? clubs, chairmen, the SFA and Hugh Dallas.ââ?¬Â

 

Rae feels that Reidââ?¬â?¢s plans for referees to declare their allegiances is unworkable. ââ?¬Å?Glasgow is the hub of Scottish football while in England you have 92 clubs and a lot of big cities who are spread the length and breadth of this country.ââ?¬Â

 

 

http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/more-scottish-football/rae-calls-for-reid-to-apologise-to-scottish-refereeing-fraternity-1.1070137

[ian1964 10,431]

Nov 23 2010 Keith Jackson

 

One of Scotland's best Oever referees last night launched a blistering double blast at Celtic and the SFA for dragging the Scottish game to the point of crisis.

 

Former top-class whistler Brian McGinlay - rated by many as the finest official the country has produced - waded into the scandal which has engulfed football as emergency talks were being scrambled in a bid to avoid this weekend's top-flight fixtures being scrapped.

 

McGinlay blames the Parkhead club for launching a concerted campaign against the country's refs and whipping up a frenzy by calling into question their honesty and integrity.

 

And he believes cowardly top brass at Hampden are every bit as culpable for failing to stand up for their men in the face of Celtic's repeated innuendos.

 

And he insists the entire furore is rooted in the West of Scotland's culture of religious intolerance.

 

But while McGinlay has nothing but sympathy for today's under-fire officials he also insists they are wrong to threaten the strike action which looks set to bring the game to a standstill.

 

He said: "In all my years in the game I have never known anything like this. It's a complete shambles and I really have no idea how it is going to be resolved.

 

"Celtic started it but the SFA have done nothing to defend or protect their own referees. I can understand why the guys feel so angry and let down but this situation is to no one's benefit and I don't honestly think a strike is going to do it much good.

 

"In fact, I had a wry laugh when I saw the weather forecast for this weekend - minus 10 and blizzards to hit the West Coast of Scotland? Perhaps George Peat's prayers have been answered."

 

SFA president Peat finally broke cover yesterday morning as Scottish football entered its meltdown moment. By mid-afternoon, he was involved in full-scale emergency talks with chief executive Stewart Regan.

 

But as far as McGinlay is concerned it was all too little too late.

 

He said: "What must have disappointed the referees is the fact these attacks have been allowed to go on and on unchecked by anyone at Hampden.

 

"You can feel a bit of sympathy for Regan because he's only just in the job and must already be wishing he was back at his cricket club in Yorkshire.

 

"But I'm disappointed the president has sat there watching this and saying nothing. I have heard he's been ill recently but he certainly looked hale and hearty on my telly doing the Scottish Cup draw earlier today. So why has he sat back and said nothing for so long?

 

"The SFA have a responsibility to protect their referees but it's been total silence. Even Hugh Dallas - the one guy you'd expect to come out in defence of the refs - has done nothing because he's been too busy covering his own back.

 

"Now we find ourselves in this situation and I don't know how it will be resolved. It's gone too far now and these attacks have gone unchecked for too long."

 

McGinlay believes one club above all others has been guilty of relentlessly going after the men in the middle - ever since the Dougie McDonald debacle at Dundee United five weeks ago.

 

He said: "You could put Celtic up on a charge of bringing the game into disrepute but that would probably result in making the already aggrieved feel even more aggrieved.

 

"But this situation has certainly not been helped by Celtic's behaviour and their continuously demanding explanation after explanation. I'm very surprised the chairman Dr John Reid - a man who spent a career working at the heart of British society in the House of Commons - has said what he's said.

 

"He didn't quite go all the way but he came as near as to saying that Celtic are discriminated against and that his club has had decisions made against it all through the years.

 

"That does nothing to help the majority of Celtic fans who had already convinced themselves this was true in the first place. One of my next door neighbours and best friends is a Celtic fan. He's totally sane and sensible until it comes to two o'clock on a Saturday. He's one of the few people in the country who still thinks it was a penalty at Tannadice and can't be convinced otherwise.

 

"That's the problem we face in the West of Scotland. It's a deeply ingrained thing. You can kid on to yourself that religion isn't a deep-rooted part of all this but it is. It's a West of Scotland problem more than it is a football problem. It always has been.

 

"There is no doubt about it. Celtic believe there is an institutionalised bias against their club but I can honestly say I have never seen any kind of evidence that would back this up.

 

"Never in my life have I seen anything as vociferous as what is coming out of Celtic Park at the moment. The ultimate insult for any referee is to have his integrity questioned or to suggest there is a sinister reason behind his decisions. I'd have been very annoyed had anyone levelled that at me so I can see why the referees are angry enough to go on strike.

 

"These are terrible accusations that are being made and the people at the SFA should have done something about it long before now."

 

McGinlay is adamant there is no basis to the conspiracy theories which hang over our game like a bad smell. But he believes Celtic won't let up until both McDonald and Dallas are out of work.

 

He said: "In my time I was never accused by anyone of being part of a conspiracy. But the climate has changed recently and I honestly don't know why.

 

"It obviously all stems from the incident in the Dundee United-Celtic game. But at the end of the day the correct decision was made. Only in Scotland could we reach the point of meltdown because a referee got a decision right!

 

"The problem was the referee and the linesman were trying to come up with an explanation which would have been deemed acceptable by the assessor.

 

"But when you watch the replays you can clearly see Dougie McDonald saying, 'It's my mistake'. He knew he'd got it wrong and changed his decision. But from that moment the whole saga has gone on and on.

 

"I can't understand why Celtic can get so upset about what you might call a white lie. Football is full of lies. Managers lie about team selections and injuries on a day-to-day basis.

 

"Over the years clubs have lied about attendances. I'd referee games and think there were about 80,000 in the stadium then go home and find out there were only 31,000. It's gone on for years and years.

 

"So I can't see why Celtic have taken such offence at this supposed lie. I watched them against St Mirren the other week and then heard Neil Lennon calling his team world-beaters.

 

"He must have been the only bloke on the planet who thought his team were world-beaters that day. Or was that a lie to try to appease the Celtic support? "The fact Celtic have kept this going for so long has made life hard for everybody. I don't think there will be satisfaction in the east end of the city until both McDonald and Dallas are gone. It's not one head they want - it's two.

 

"So how on earth this is going to be resolved I do not know."

 

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/football/spl/2010/11/23/ref-crisis-this-would-never-have-happened-if-sfa-had-the-bottle-to-stand-up-to-celtic-86908-22733472/