Scotland’s Senior Referees have issued a statement about Michael Stewart.
If ever there was a case of growing a mountain out of a molehill it is this.
The story went public on Friday with the news that the SFA had banned Stewart from Hampden for upsetting referees with his comments.
At the Dunfermline v Falkirk match on Saturday Premier Sports made light of the issue by having Stewart in a van in the car park assessing the match.
Rather than let that blow over Premier Sports were informed that the ban extended to the Hampden footprint!
It isn’t known if stewards were searching vans going into the car park for the Celtic v St Mirren match.
STEWART TAKES TO THE HAMPDEN CAR PARK
Premier Sports announced that the ban on Stewart had been extended. They also stated that they hoped that it would be resolved soon.
That seems unlikely with the body representing John Beaton, Andrew Dallas and David Dickinson deciding to get involved!
The Scottish Senior Football Referees’ Association (SSFRA) have released a statement aligning themselves with the SFA’s view that Michael Stewart’s commentary has “at times extended beyond fair and legitimate criticism, including personal remarks that call into question the… https://t.co/xhCrfXwmOw pic.twitter.com/wksbd7HUIe
— Scotland’s Coefficient (@scotlandscoeff1) April 20, 2026
Scottish referees are horrific. Hardly surprising when the head of refereeing is Willie Collum.
FIFA have acknowledged that by ignoring every Scottish official in their list of 170 selected to cover 104 matches at the World Cup Finals.
Collum and his cronies could easily go on the front foot and dispute the claims being made by Stewart.
Collum has made a point of strengthening relationships across legacy media. Every month there is an interview with the former schoolteacher showing what a great regular guy he is.
Collum has no passion or interest in football. It is all about self projection, now there is a generation of referees emerging modelled on Collum. Like Matthew MacDermid who mishandled the Celtic v St Mirren match.
With five matches left in the SPFL Premiership the spotlight is now firmly on the decisions of referees and VAR officials.
The actions of the SFA with Michael Stewart have ensured that.
Having imposed their authority on Premier Sports the SFA need to be very careful with the exclusive broadcaster and sponsor of the SPFL League Cup.
