McVicar brands bias row 'pathetic'

Responding to demands by Hearts supporters’ organisations that referees make known which clubs they support, McVicar said he had absolute faith in his officials, and declared that the problem in Scottish football lay with those people who could not see beyond their own bias.

He also rejected a suggestion that the SFA might come into line with the FA, which has a scheme whereby referees can disclose any allegiances to teams.

"Quite honestly, I find this whole thing pathetic," he said of the furore which has arisen from Hearts’ call for an inquiry into the "integrity of the decision" to award a penalty to Rangers at the end of the league match between the two teams. "Those of us involved in refereeing, and most people outside refereeing I have talked to recently, find it absolutely pathetic.

"I am totally convinced of the impartiality of our referees under constant sniping and criticism. The problems only exist in the eyes of a very small minority. There is no actual problem in our organisation as it stands at present."

In their letter to the SFA, all four official Hearts supporters’ groups said that, while not claiming officials showed overt favouritism towards the Old Firm, they believed that disclosure of interest would benefit the game.

"We make no accusation of deliberate bias against any of the officials employed to officiate at SPL games," the letter read. "We do, however, believe in the interests of proper openness and accountability that any football allegiances of SPL officials should be declared. We believe this would reassure supporters and protect the officials in question."

Asked if it might be of benefit if referees declared any allegiance to a specific team, McVicar responded firmly in the negative. "Why do we need to?" he said. "We’ve got the interests of Scottish football at heart."

He added that, while accepting almost everyone in football had had an enthusiasm for one team or another at a certain stage, it did not follow that officials were affected by that. "How can you honestly not have some sort of liking for a team when you’ve grown up in a certain area watching a certain side? It’s impossible.

"But those who think you will inevitably be biased don’t understand about refereeing. They are the ones coming from a partisan position. If people could put their partisan allegiances behind them we’d be all the better for it.

"There has been the odd occasion when a referee has suggested to the Referees’ Committee that there might be a conflict of interest in a match to which he has been appointed, perhaps in respect of his job or something like that. The Referees’ Committee has never had to take action at all. We have been absolutely convinced no referee has been affected by any such conflict of interest.

"That has happened maybe three or four times in the past ten years. It has never been about a team to which a referee may have any allegiance."

In England, the FA, like its Scottish counterpart, has a scheme enabling referees to report any possible conflict of interest.

Unlike in Scotland, however, referees south of the Border are given the option of declaring which team they either support now or did support previously - and if they do so are not appointed to matches involving those teams.

Any such allegiances are not made public, and any referee who chooses not to state a preference for a team is not questioned on the matter.

The scheme, which is now run by the umbrella body Professional Game Match Officials Ltd (PGMOL), has been in operation since the 1960s.

"This is a longstanding scheme, and we are constantly being approached by organisations from other countries for advice about how to implement something similar," said a spokesman for PGMOL, which was formed four years ago when English referees turned professional.

The spokesman added: "In terms of the integrity and standing of our referees we are renowned worldwide and are beyond reproach."

The spokesman declined to say, however, whether he would recommend to the SFA that they implement an identical scheme.