Gary Caldwell has been given a two match touchline ban for describing Andrew Dallas as arrogant.
The former Celtic defender took charge of Partick Thistle in November after spells down south in charge of Wigan Athletic and Chesterfield with the Dallas charge his first appearance in front of the SFA.
Thistle’s 1-1 draw with fellow struggler’s Falkirk prompted the comments with Caldwell fairly measured in his post match comments.
The BBC reported the Thistle boss saying: “I don’t understand how every foul we make is a yellow card, yet they get away with one, two, three fouls.
“I’m not saying they [referees] can be perfect. The way they go about it after, the arrogance they show, isn’t great. It needs to improve. We need to make it better because this is people’s livelihoods at stake.
“I had a quiet word with the referee after the game, but I can’t say what he said. It’s private.”
Arrogance and aloof have been fairly regular descriptions of Dallas as he shot his way through the refereeing ranks largely on the word of his father, UEFA official Hugh.
That rapid promotion has riled other officials making their way in the game.
At Championship level the match referee will almost certainly be getting paid more than anyone else on the park with basic wages of players in the £500-600/week range.
The most recent controversy involving Dallas was the awarding of four penalties against St Mirren at Ibrox, after two appointments as a fourth official Dallas will referee tomorrow’s Championship game between Queen of the South and Dundee United.