The boys of 2016 as Mark Warburton loses the Scottish Cup Final to Hibs
Less than three days before the matches are due to be played the SFA are refusing to publish details of which officials will be involved in a full card of SPFL Premiership matches.
With matches taking place in Aberdeen, Dingwall and Dundee the officials involved will already have made travel plans for the midweek pay-days with some requiring time off from their day jobs.
In normal circumstances the officials involved would have been announced on Tuesday, at the same time as the weekend fixtures with three matches played on Saturday and Sunday.
Of course the main point of interest is over who the SFA can trust for Aberdeen’s match against Phil Clement’s exciting young side.
Given the circumstances involved it would seem a certainty that John Beaton and Andrew Dallas would be put in charge, if Beaton isn’t available Nick Walsh could take a half day from his job at Boclair Academy to make the trip to Pittodrie.
The clubs involved will almost certainly know their officials for Wednesday’s matches but it seems that the SFA are reluctant to announce those details to supporters.
A complication is the League Cup semi-finals this weekend where Beaton and Dallas would have been contenders for Saturday’s match between Aberdeen and Celtic.
Giving them back-to-back fixtures involving the same club isn’t a good look but with a limited talent pool almost exclusively drawn from Lanarkshire and Glasgow Willie Collum has one high profile match on Wednesday followed quickly by two national semi-finals to make five appointments for each match.
Normally the SFA update their website on a Tuesday morning for matches over the next 10 days.
Celtic host Dundee on Wednesday with the other matches Dundee United v Motherwell, Hearts v Kilmarnock, Ross County v Hibs and St Mirren v St Johnstone.
As well as the weekend semi-finals there are two Premiership matches on Saturday and two on Sunday.
CLICK HERE for SPFL Premiership appointments.
Which worshipful brothers will it be?
Cannae wait!
Midweek matches in Aberdeen, Dundee and Dingwall demonstrating another reason why you shouldn’t draw all your referees from one small area in the south of the country…. after all, there are plenty of lodges in the north they could recruit from!
There’s no way any of these crooked c*nts are letting the Dons go 9 clear of their beloved
Maybe the SPFL is asking Sky Sports which officials are to be in charge at Pittodrie ? I mean Sky has a major say on everything else regarding Scottish football , Including kick off times ?
I understand the games are clashing with Lodge meetings…Worshipful Masters are being consulted.