Referee chief explains why they won’t go public
This season has seen the usual number of honest mistakes from Craig Thomson missing two clear cut penalties in the Aberdeen v Hibs match on Friday to Stevie McLean’s embarrassing catalogue of errors during Celtic’s 5-0 win at Motherwell.
A simple statement on the SFA website within an hour of the final whistle would satisfy most fans, players and managers but there are no signs of enlightenment at Hampden where it seems that refereeing mistakes are off topic.
Before leading 50 referees on a sunshine five star training break to La Manga Fleming explained to the SFA website: “I believe there are occasions when an explanation of a decision could be beneficial, like a technical matter.
“The problem we have with referees speaking after a game is that a number of matters may be referred to the Compliance Officer for review and a referee commenting could prejudice any case.
“We are very restricted in what we can voice and I think it would bring more problems than benefits to the referees. We need to protect them as best we can so it’s best they don’t speak to the media after matches.
“We have opened the door on referees speaking to the media when a match has been postponed to offer an explanation and that has happened on a number of occasions this season. In the past, we have held media training sessions which have helped develop better relationships with the media and helped their understanding of the decision-making process.”
Fleming claimed: “I think we are doing well domestically but there is always room for improvement. Situations occur in a match that, through a lack of concentration, can catch referees out.
“We need to look at them in more detail and learn from them. That’s something we’ll look to do at this training camp.”
This is the sixth year that referees have enjoyed their La Manga training camp with Fleming believing that the break benefits everyone in the business.
“The winter training camp provides us with the opportunity to take away 50 referees and specialist assistant referees for four days for intense practical and theory sessions,” the ref’s chief explained.
“The weather conditions in Spain are much better than in Scotland at the time of the year so it gives us the perfect platform to train. The trip gives me the opportunity to speak to the referees about the season to date and review any match incidents in detail. I can also assess the fitness levels of the officials whilst we are away.”
Shamed Dougie McDonald has rejoined the SFA as a referee development officer.