Hugh Dallas and SFA reach out of court deal over 'unfair dismissal'

Referee chief Hugh Dallas's action for unfair dismissal against the Scottish Football Association has been settled out of court.

Mr Dallas left the SFA after being implicated in a row over an offensive email about the Pope. He was planning to sue the organisation at an employment tribunal in Glasgow this week.

The hearing was expected to last five days but officials have said both parties reached agreement after a conciliation process with employment relations company Acas.

An SFA spokesman said: "We can confirm that the issue has been resolved to both parties' satisfaction."

SFA chief executive Stewart Regan launched an internal inquiry in November after details of the alleged email surfaced in the press.

Reports claimed a photograph relating to the Pope's visit had been passed on in official SFA emails. The photograph showed a road sign featuring a woman and a child with a doctored message referring to the pontiff below.

Mr Dallas, 53, head of referee development at the time, and four other SFA staff were sacked over the email.

Three of the others have since been given their jobs back and the SFA is understood to be taking no further action against them.