Collum Faces Crisis in Refereeing

Problems are piling up on Willie Collum, multiplying on a match by match basis.

The issues have been entirely created by the SFA’s Head of Refereeing, a man whose entire career is due to Hugh Dallas and the Lanarkshire Refereeing Association.

As he comes to the end of his second season in charge of refereeing Collum has virtually ran out of referees.

Collum has one big SPFL appointment to make- for Saturday’s match between Celtic and Hearts

So far this season five men have refereed 20 of more SPFL Premiership matches.

Over the last week Don Robertson, David Dickinson and now Steven McLean have virtually ruled themselves out of being involved in that fixture.

On Friday the KMI Panel somehow excused the decision to allow Joe Newell’s goal against Celtic to stand.

But even that hand-picked SFA group couldn’t justify the decision not to award Celtic a penalty.

Right in front of Dickinson and his assistant Calum Spence, Josh Campbell used two hands to push over Ben Nygren.

Dickinson followed up by booking Campbell and Liam Scales as players squared up.

That gave Robertson time to review the push on Nygren. Alongside Duncan Nicolson he decided to take no action.

After the match Martin O’Neill didn’t focus on the four mistakes made by the on pitch officials.

TWO OF COLLUM’S TOP OFFICIALS ARE ABSOLUTE CRAP!

On Friday he didn’t hold back. ‘Absolute crap‘ was how O’Neill described them as he spoke to Sunday newspaper reporters. Robertson and Nicolson were included in that.

Even someone with the brass neck of Collum will find it difficult to select Robertson or Dickinson for the remaining fixtures.

So far this season Nick Walsh has refereed 23 Premiership matches, Robertson 22, McLean 22,, Dickinson 20, John Beaton 19.

All of those referees have handled the Glasgow Derby except Dickinson.

Next on the list is Matthew MacDermid who seems to create controversy in every match he is involved in.

Three of the top five seem out of bounds for the Celtic v Hearts match. On Wednesday Beaton referees Motherwell v Celtic, the same night Walsh is at Hearts v Falkirk.

The problem is all of Collum’s making.

He won’t break rank with his old refereeing colleagues.

His main loyalty is to the Lanarkshire Refereeing Association, the only reason for his lucrative career in football.

That has led him to the hopeless rump of blundering match officials.

In his VAR team he has Andrew Dallas and Greg Aitken. Two other officials that achieved nothing outside of Scotland. Neither got to referee a Glasgow Derby.

Last Sunday the outcry was over Robertson and Dickinson. On Saturday it was all on McLean. Orchestrated by Kris Boyd and Derek McInnes.

WHY IS STEVEN MCLEAN STILL REFEREEING?

McLean should have been booted out of football following the 2015 Celtic v Inverness Caley Thistle Scottish Cup semi final.

He has survived and prospered under John Fleming, Crawford Allan and Collum.

That prevents other promising referees from emerging.

Collum now has the perfect storm coming his way.

Does he appoint one of the officials involved in the recent controversies. Or put a relative rookie in charge of the biggest domestic fixture in Scotland for decades.

On Tuesday morning the SFA website should reveal who will be in charge at Celtic Park on Saturday.

That match could become a dead rubber if Celtic lose on Wednesday and Hearts beat Falkirk. With Beaton and Dallas in charge at Fir Park that is areal possibility.