Radio Clyde will broadcast an interview with Bobby Madden tonight on Super Scoreboard tonight.
The East Kilbride based referee has been involved in a number of controversies this season and recently missed Ryan Kent punching Scott Brown while in the centre circle at the March Glasgow derby.
Madden is on the elite FIFA list which ensures a regular run of top fixtures, strangely he was also in charge of Celtic’s 1-0 win at Dundee which was the game immediately prior to the derby clash.
???? On tonight’s SSB referee Bobby Madden’s speaking to us exclusively about life as a #referee in Scottish #football.
?? Hear the full interview from 6pm ?? pic.twitter.com/Rh5V4VQnU6
— Superscoreboard (@ClydeSSB) May 1, 2019
There are many big questions regarding refereeing in Scottish football but the biggest issue is about match officials being in charge of teams that they have supported in the past. In England referees fill in a form and are excluded from matches relevant to those clubs. Uefa and Fifa insist on neutral officials in the matches.
The standard reply to that question is that a referee won’t allow a boyhood allegiance to impact on decision making effecting their career.
At the December Glasgow derby at Ibrox, in which Madden was the fourth official, three of the four match officials came from within 20 miles of Ibrox Stadium.
In February Craig Levein told The Scotsman: “The Glasgow and Lanarkshire refs do most of the big games. We have seven FIFA officials and all of them are from Glasgow or Lanarkshire.
“So if you ask these guys because they are the top referees to do an Old Firm game then the pressures are enormous.
“You saw what happened to John Beaton. That type of thing comes from him living in the heartlands of those clubs. They can’t get away from it.”
Unless tonight’s interview asks Madden if he has ever been an active supporter of any club it is largely pointless.