Hugh Dallas tells referees to get tough

THE SFA's Head of Refereeing Development, Hugh Dallas, will meet with representatives of all 42 senior Scottish clubs over the next fortnight and he will tell them that he has told his whistlers to be courageous and give penalties if they see jersey pulling in the box even if six penalties are awarded in a game.

The coming together of defenders and attackers was a major issue at the World Cup and was most vividly highlighted in the America and Slovenia game where a winning goal from Rangers' Maurice Edu was ruled out for a foul even though TV footage clearly showed that four Americans were being pulled back by Slovenian defenders.

Dallas is determined that his men blow for penalties in similar instances saying: "To be fair, jersey pulling is not too bad in the Scottish game; however, I will be telling our referees to be brave and to give a penalty if they see it. If they give it and then see it again they should be giving another penalty."