Are you a Rangers fan? Referee Bobby Madden breaks silence over club allegience rumours

Referee Bobby Madden has revealed that he attended Rangers matches in his childhood as he addressed the rumours regarding his support of the Ibrox club.

The 44-year-old announced earlier this week that he will retire at the end of the season after two decades of officiating having quit the Scottish FA last summer to take up refereeing in England.

Madden took charge of more than 1000 matches in Scotland including several high profile fixtures including Old Firm clashes and Hampden cup finals, while he also officiated in the Champions League.

Throughout his time in Scotland, Madden was often dogged by suggestions that he was a secret Rangers supporter who not only had a season-ticket for Ibrox but was also a shareholder in the club.

Addressing the rumours, Madden told BBC Scotland: "So this has been bandied about for years. I can speak openly, and I think anyone who knows me will know, I was raised by my grandparents and my grandfather was a massive Rangers fan, and took me to Ibrox until I was about 12 or 13 maybe.

"And through ill-health stopped going. My brother was then a St Mirren fan, but at that point - 12, 13, 14 - I started running. I became a junior international so I really took a limited interest in football at that stage.

"When I didn't have a race I would go to Love Street as it was at the time with my brother who had a season ticket. So no, you hear these rumours, I'm a mason, I'm a shareholder, I ran a supporters' bus. It's very easy to create a rumour now and if someone says, 'I used to work with him' it gives it a degree of credibility and then you can put anything on that.

"I worked in a distribution centre for about 12 years and everyone in there knew me. Knew that I was a runner, that in my spare weekends I went to Love Street. I actually sat beside some people who worked with me I knew.

Referee Bobby Madden during last season's Scottish Cup semi-final between Celtic and Rangers at Hampden. (Photo by Alan Harvey / SNS Group)

"But then when you leave, very quickly there's a post on... 'I knew him and he did this and that'. So it's difficult but people will always try and find a way to criticise and cast aspersions. So I did go [to Rangers] when I was younger with my grandfather but I was never a season ticket holder or shareholder or any of these other things that are labelled at me."