Ref McDonald calls it a day

After a weekend when Scottish referees withdrew their labour following recent criticism for many quarters ref Dougie McDonald has decided to retire as a Grade 1 referee.

It was an incident involving McDonald in a game between Celtic and Dundee Utd when he firstly gave a penalty then decided after consulting with his linesman Steven Craven to change his decision.

Craven resigned not long after the story broke about “collusion” between the officials to mislead their bosses. Then they confessed to lying to Celtic Manager Neil Lennon which kick off the whole sorry saga.

McDonald said today, "It is with regret that I have decided, with immediate effect, to retire from my role as a category one referee.

"My category one colleagues decided rightly to withdraw their services from matches this weekend in response to the outrageous way they have been treated by sections within Scottish football and, in my opinion, the lack of support they have received from the SFA General Purposes Committee in recent years.

"However, their united stand, and the position of strength they have established this weekend, has been clouded by one issue, namely the aftermath of the Dundee United v Celtic match on 17 October.

"I apologised for my role in that and wanted my previously unblemished 29-year career to move on. Now is the time for all of Scottish football to move on.

"My decision will therefore remove that issue from the debate and ensure that the next day of action - which, in my opinion, will undoubtedly come if the football community does not have a massive change of heart - will result in media coverage being concentrated on those who engage in referee bashing and those who condone it."

This is the third casualty in recent weeks affecting the Scottish refereeing community with Craven and McDonald being joined by Hugh Dallas who was sacked for other reasons.