Dougie McDonald, Scottish referee who lied over reversing penalty, quits (original) (raw)

Dougie McDonald, the referee who lied about his reasons for reversing a penalty for Celtic, has announced his retirement.

McDonald had been under serious pressure to step down after the admission that he lied about the penalty in a game against Dundee United last month. Celtic's chairman John Reid had called directly for McDonald's his removal after the club's recent annual general meeting; the referee's position was widely regarded as untenable.

McDonald's exit comes after a weekend in which Scotland's referees went on strike in protest at what they perceive as escalating abuse towards them and the questioning of their honesty.

Hugh Dallas, the Scottish Football Association's head of refereeing, also left his post on Friday. Dallas, who is known to be close to McDonald, had been under investigation for the alleged sending of an offensive email relating to the pope's visit to Scotland.

McDonald said: "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 v Celtic match on 17 October. I apologised for my role in that and want my previously unblemished 29-year career to move on."

"Now is the time for all of Scottish football to move on.

"My decision will therefore remove that issue from the debate and ensure that the next day of action — which, in my opinion, will undoubtedly come if the football community does not have a massive change of heart — will result in media coverage being concentrated on those who engage in referee bashing and those who condone it."

Celtic refused comment on McDonald's decision.

Neil Lennon, the Celtic manager, and the striker Gary Hooper will go before the SFA tomorrow, in what will be the first test of the governing body's promise to get tough on those who are critical of referees. Lennon has been referred after hefor disciplinary action following comments made after a defeat to Hearts. Celtic's manager claimed the officials would concoct a story as to why he had been sent to the stand during game.

Hooper said a disproportionate number of decisions were given against Celtic because they "are one of the biggest teams in the world".As Scotland recovers from its referees' strike, the SFA chief executive, Stewart Regan, said those who question officials will be more firmly dealt with than before. That stance has upset the country's Players Union. "We will be very tough on any player who challenges or abuses referees in a way that is unacceptable," said Regan.

Referees return to action next weekend but the strike issue may rumble on after claims the SFA misled foreign officials who had been brought in as cover with four Premier League games going ahead on Saturday. Polish referees backtracked on their offer to help after learning the reasons for the withdrawal of labour and two of their Portuguese counterparts did likewise upon arriving in Glasgow on Friday. The Israeli referee Eli Hacmon, who took charge of Kilmarnock's win over Aberdeen on Saturday said: "We did not know the reason before we came on Friday. If we knew it before, we would not have come here."