Players union chief Fraser Wishart has revealed how the refereeing fraternity dominate the SFA.
Chief Executive Stewart Regan’s hopes of change within the committee structure seem doomed with a powerful network of referees in place unlikely to hand over their influence over the game without a fight.
The Players union have been battling for years to have a say in the game but when it comes to decision making it’s virtually a closed shop of whistlers and former whistlers that call the shots at Hampden.
“Referees are actually in a very influential position within the governance of our game,” Wishart explained in his column in The Herald.
“There is a refereeing department, staffed for and paid for by the Scottish FA, with an office a penalty kick away from the chief executive’s office. Above that is the Referees Committee which reports directly to the board and so has direct access to those in power.
“In addition, the SFA working parties that deal with these matters are mainly populated by referees, ex-referees, referee supervisors and Referee Committee members, with Alex Smith and me swimming against the tide as lone voices for our members.”
On the specifics of Dougie Dougie lying to the match observer and the Celtic manager Wishart added: “In this case it’s the Referees Committee and not the chief executive who sits in judgement of friends and former colleagues.
“Would the discipline of players be handed over to PFA Scotland and former players? Not a chance. Players guilty of indiscipline are dealt with by an independent panel, so change is required.
“In all my years in charge of the players’ union I have not received one call to ask what players think. Hugh Dallas makes great play about dialogue being good. He is correct, but by definition, dialogue is two-way.
“Players only have issues with those who won’t talk to them and are poor at managing the game, even down to the way yellow and red cards are administered. Strangely, players may be an unlikely ally to referees in coming months.”
Grade One referee criticises Dougie Dougie
Follow Video Celts on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube
