Willie Collum to referee Scottish Cup final

Willie Collum will referee the Scottish Cup final between Falkirk and Inverness later this month. Picture: Greg Macvean

The May 30 Hampden clash between Falkirk and Inverness will be Collum’s second Scottish Cup final - he took charge of Celtic’s win over Hibernian two years ago.

The appointment represents a turnaround for Collum after he came under fire earlier in the year.

The 36-year-old sent off three players and awarded four penalties in his first two games of 2015 but the two straight red cards - for St Mirren midfielder Kenny McLean and Motherwell defender Stephen McManus - were overturned while all four spot-kick awards were criticised.

Collum also came under criticism after Aberdeen’s 3-0 win at Hamilton in February, when he failed to give a goal when Adam Rooney’s shot bounced more than a yard over the line, before disallowing two more goals and denying the Irishman a penalty.