Hugh Dallas is to appeal

[ian1964 10,720]

Dallas and four other employees were dismissed for forwarding an email which linked the visit of the Pope to the UK with the child abuse scandal within the Roman Catholic Church.

 

Under the SFA’s disciplinary procedures the five staff members involved in the incident had until close of business yesterday to lodge their appeals against the sanction.

 

The SFA chief executive, Stewart Regan, refused to comment on the grounds that the matter is now an internal disciplinary affair to be handled by the Association’s human resources department.

 

However, I understand that at least four of the five have appealed and that Dallas is one of those who will now have their cases re-examined by the SFA’s president, George Peat.

 

Meanwhile, the reverberations of Dallas’s sacking and the resignation of Dougie McDonald, the referee who lied about why he had rescinded a penalty awarded to Celtic in their game against Dundee United at Tannadice on Oct 17, continue to be felt within the corridors of power at Hampden Park.

 

On Tuesday, Regan responded forcefully to comments by Jim Sheridan, the MP for Paisley and Renfrewshire North and a member of the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee in Westminster, who became the latest public figure to attempt to put pressure on the governing body of Scottish football when he called for “their views on transparency, the structure of the SFA, the conspiracy culture and the way we deal with referees.”

 

Sheridan added: “People I speak to within the game are fed up with every week bringing a new conspiracy theory and another referee being at fault. It has to be brought to an end.

 

“I want a fresh pair of eyes to have a close look at the whole structure and see how it operates and advise how it should be operating. If there is bias or bigotry within the organisation then let’s get rid of it for the good of the game.

 

“Things really have to be clarified as it just cannot continue the way we are at the moment by accusing a referee of bias every time a team loses.”

 

Sport is, of course, one of the areas devolved to the Scottish Executive and as the Westminster committee’s own website states: “Are football governance rules in England and Wales, and the governing bodies which set and apply them, fit for purpose?”

 

In any case, the SFA is already in the process of being scrutinised in a detailed review by another Scottish Labour politician, as Regan sharply reminded Sheridan when he issued a statement which said: “I am surprised by the comments attributed in the media yesterday to Jim Sheridan MP. Mr Sheridan spoke publicly before making any effort to contact me or ascertain details of the work currently ongoing to improve our game.

 

“Mr Sheridan’s comments on alleged bias within the Scottish FA are divisive, grossly misguided and deeply unhelpful.

 

“He has called for an independent review, when it is widely known that the former First Minister, Henry McLeish, presented the first part of his completely independent review of Scottish football earlier this year, and that part two is due to be published imminently.

 

“My intention to conduct a review of internal processes at the Scottish FA has also been widely reported.

 

“Finally, with regard to Mr Sheridan’s comments on referees, we have, again, already stated our intention to work with all relevant parties to create a Referees’ Charter. In short, we are in the process of addressing every point Mr Sheridan makes, and I would be happy to meet with him to clarify these details.

 

“I am also interested to hear more on the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee’s renewed interest in Scottish football, and am especially keen to find out what level of support they are able to offer the game going forward.”

 

As far as more immediate matters on the field of play are concerned, the Scottish Premier League remains cautious about the likelihood of any games going ahead on Saturday.

 

The entire SPL card was wiped out last weekend on police advice and the situation worsened on Monday when Scotland’s road network was paralysed after a blizzard struck during the morning rush hour.

 

Although a reduced train service was in operation, hundreds of motorists were forced to remain in their cars overnight and many more workers chose to sleep in their offices, including 14 SFA staff and the SPL chief executive, Neil Doncaster.

 

Doncaster believes that the thaw which is predicted to reach Scotland on Thursday will allow the weekend fixtures to proceed, although he acknowledged that the issue is not simply a matter of conditions at grounds.

 

“At the top of our priorities we have to have supporters’ welfare,” Doncaster said.

 

“Although the forecast is for very cold weather overnight on Tuesday and Wednesday, it is thought there will be a considerable thaw towards the end of the week so we will be reviewing that over the next 48 hours before we make any final decisions.

 

“We have to bear in mind that clubs want to get fixtures away.”

 

If the SPL games do go ahead, Willie Collum will return to Celtic Park for the first time since he took charge of the Old Firm derby there on Oct 24. The match ended in a 3-1 victory for Rangers, who were awarded a debatable penalty kick, about which Celtic complained.

 

Later on the day of the match, the 31-year-old Collum – a teacher of religious education at the Roman Catholic Cardinal Newman High School in Bellshill – received death threats at his home. On Saturday he will referee Celtic’s home fixture against Kilmarnock.

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/competitions/scottish-premier/8187340/Sacked-referees-chief-Hugh-Dallas-is-to-appeal-against-his-dismissal-by-the-Scottish-Football-Association.html

[Frankie 8,529]

Interesting times...