Scottish FA to bring in foreign referees
The Scottish Football Association is set to bring in foreign referees to officiate matches if a planned strike by Scots officials goes ahead.
Category one referees voted through a motion to go on strike on the weekend of 27-28 November, following criticism from Scottish Premier League clubs. The referees say they feel that their personal safety is at risk.
It has been reported that category two referees have agreed not to step in and officiate SPL or Scottish Football League matches over the weekend, and in a bid to ensure that fixtures will go ahead, the SFA is to bring in officials from outside the country.
In a statement to the press, the SFA's chief executive Stewart Regan said, "I have every sympathy for the refereeing fraternity at this time. I cannot, however, condone what will amount to strike action and believe we must now engage in positive dialogue
to avert the possibility that we will have no football this weekend. We have an obligation to the leagues, supporters, clubs, sponsors and media partners to do our utmost to ensure all senior games are refereed.
"While we remain hopeful that the situation can be resolved to everyone's satisfaction, we have no option but to draw up contingency plans, which will involve sourcing match officials in other countries."
Several incidents on the pitch this season and the resulting criticism of officials have led to the strike action being called, with the most notable being an incident at Tannadice on 17 October in a Dundee United-Celtic game.
A penalty was awarded to Celtic only for referee Dougie McDonald to reverse the decision after a discussion with linesman Steven Craven. However, McDonald admitted after the game that he had lied to Celtic manager Neil Lennon about how the officials had
come to the decision.
Craven resigned as an official as a result of the fallout, which also saw Celtic chairman John Reid call for McDonald to resign or be sacked.
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