Penalty row referee retires
Dougie McDonald, who has been at the centre of controversy in recent weeks over his decision to reverse a penalty he awarded to Celtic in a Scottish Premier League game against Dundee United, has announced his retirement as a category one referee.
The 45-year-old awarded the spot-kick to the Hoops on 17 October at Tannadice, only to overturn his decision after consulting with his linesman. However, it was later revealed that he had misled Celtic manager Neil Lennon over the reasons behind the U-turn.
Celtic had been calling for the official to either step down from his role or be sacked.
Following the controversy, McDonald has decided to end his career as one of Scotland's top referees, after participating in a category one officials' strike over the weekend of 27-28 November. He also claimed that it was time for all of Scottish football
to put the penalty incident in the past.
He told reporters, "It is with regret that I have decided, with immediate effect, to retire from my role as a category one referee. My category one colleagues decided rightly to withdraw their services from matches this weekend in response to the outrageous
way they have been treated by sections within Scottish football and, in my opinion, the lack of support they have received from the SFA General Purposes Committee in recent years.
"However, their united stand, and the position of strength they have established this weekend, has been clouded by one issue, namely the aftermath of the Dundee United vs Celtic match on 17 October. I apologised for my role in that and wanted my previously
unblemished 29-year career to move on. Now is the time for all of Scottish football to move on.”
The official received a warning from the Scottish Football Association after he did not clearly explain the reasons why he reversed the penalty decision.
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