Vincent Lunny quits the SFA as compliance officer

THE Scottish Football Association has started the search for a new compliance officer after Vincent Lunny announced he is to step down from the role.

Vincent Lunny resigned as compliance officer at the SFA after almost three years. Picture: SNS

Lunny, who previously worked for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Office before joining the SFA almost three years ago, is to resume his legal career by training to become an advocate.

He had been seconded to work at Balkan war crimes tribunals at The Hague during his earlier work as a lawyer, but found his public profile raised to an entirely new level when he became the SFA’s first compliance officer in 2011.

The position was created as part of SFA chief executive Stewart Regan’s reforms of the organisation, many of which had been recommended by former first minister Henry McLeish’s review of Scottish football.

The previous committee-based disciplinary structure of the SFA was discarded and replaced by a fast-track system in which Lunny determined whether incidents during matches or other alleged misdemeanours should be pursued.

“The last three years have flown by,” said Lunny. “They have been the fastest three years of my life. It has been a real privilege to have worked at the Scottish FA and it has been a tremendous experience.

“I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my time here and in Scottish football but I am also looking forward to progressing my legal career. The process of becoming an advocate started back in 2005 for me, and I just completed my entrance exams in February.

“I now have nine months of training ahead of me, commencing in October, and I am looking forward to the challenges that lie ahead.”

Lunny will step down in September, allowing the SFA time to identify and recruit his replacement for a position which has become one of the most significant in Scottish football.