Hugh Reilly: Who shot Hugh Dallas is a question for us all

Published on Tuesday 30 November 2010 18:50

It's a moral dilemma of our time: at the workplace, on receiving an e-mail containing an allegedly humorous attachment, should one open it or hit the delete button?

If, on opening the attachment, one quickly realises its offensive content has the potential to be Exhibit A at your forthcoming disciplinary, the anxiety felt is on a par with being selected as first player in a round of pass the parcel with a live grenade coated with superglue. Call me cautious, but I always opt to despatch such unsolicited e-mails to cyberspace oblivion.

Who shot Hugh Dallas? might be the title of the soap opera that led to the firing of Scotland's top refereeing official. The shenanigans surrounding Shug and his fateful decision to relay an internet "funny" featuring the Pope concern me. Many would argue there was more than a whiff of hypocrisy when the Catholic Church, which by its own admission had protected paedophile priests from prosecution, demanded Dallas's head on a platter. Indeed, at one point, there was a real danger that the level of righteous indignation threatened to match that felt by Labour MSPs over the SNP government's dreadful decision not to renew a tax power that has lain dormant since parliament reconvened in 1999.

Predictably, given the sectarian nature of the best wee country in the world, the verdict on the demise of Dallas is split. In the blue corner, many Protestants perceive dismissal to be a draconian punishment, an overreaction to an e-mail which could be interpreted as satirical, rather than sectarian. In the green corner, many Catholics are satisfied the punishment fits the crime.

Rather unwisely in my opinion, Pete Wishart, an SNP MSP, called for referees to disclose any allegiance they may have for a certain team. As someone who refs the occasional school football game, revealing my love for Airdrie FC would leave me open to ridicule. To be fair, the club's roll call of honours – a losing appearance in a Texaco Cup final and a Scottish Cup win in 1928 – is longer than a list of statesman-like orations made by Iain Gray.

Confession is a catharsis of sorts so I'll come clean – when refereeing matches involving my school, I am not impartial. I give every 50/50 decision to the opposition lest anyone questions my integrity. Little wonder, then, that my pupils groan when they discover I'm the over-nourished man in black. I like to think of it as a character-building exercise when the youngsters have to accept refereeing decisions borne of my biased approach and unconscious incompetence.

For the most part, schoolboys respect officials. Not so, adults. Years ago, I took up refereeing as an escape from my status as impoverished student. For 90 minutes (plus injury time), I happily accepted the vitriolic abuse heaped on me by players, coaches and spectators, safe in the knowledge that some crisp fivers would be coming my way at the final whistle.

The Rangers News league, had difficulty attracting referees and was forced to pay a premium rate. Most of the clubs were branches of the Orange Order, thus I was puzzled when I was contacted to officiate their games. The secretary explained that, as a Catholic, my integrity would not be questioned: there was no chance of me favouring a particular lodge. For my part, I found it hilarious that, at the warm-up, both sides pumped themselves up by shouting: "Come on the sons of William!"

Funnier still, though, was my staff room encounter in a denominational school with a Catholic zealot who stated that, although others had a right to follow a different religion, it was proper that Catholic children were educated to believe that theirs was the one, true faith. I smiled and waited for the punchline that never came.

A stranger is just a friend you haven't met yet, so the saying goes, but in small-minded Scotland, it is a cultural norm to quiz a new acquaintance regarding which school he attended. Of course, certain surnames render this form of inquisition superfluous; announcing that one's name is Reilly allows the interrogator to move along quickly to the next unsuspecting guest at the dinner party.

Moreover, in my view, campaigns such as Nil By Mouth are to be applauded. Education is the key to reducing the negative impact of those with an unhealthy attachment to sectarianism.