Willie Collum, Scotland’s head of refereeing, has slammed suggestions that referees’ allegiances affect their officiating as an insult to their integrity.
His comments come amidst persistent conspiracy theories from sections of both Rangers and Celtic fans, who often suggest bias in officiating decisions.
Speaking after the release of VAR audio from some of the season’s more contentious Premiership decisions, Collum directly addressed the calls for referees to disclose which team they support.
He made it clear that, while referees are required to declare certain interests, the idea of declaring their footballing allegiances is a step too far.
“First of all, referees need to declare an interest,” Collum explained.
“We had a top assistant a couple of years ago, and his son was playing for a senior club. Even though it was only an under-19 team, he still declared that as an interest.
“If somebody is working for a company that sponsors a particular club, these are the things we would expect the referee to declare an interest in.”
However, Collum rejected the notion that referees should disclose which team they support, saying it would create an unnecessary and unreasonable burden.
“In terms of a team that somebody might support or a connection with a family member, where do we draw the line? We want to encourage people into refereeing and say, ‘You can referee the top games.’
“We would put a blocker on that, and I keep saying where do you draw the line? If somebody’s third relative had a connection somewhere, or had a season ticket – what I would say is, when you are refereeing at the top level of the game, you have a passion for it, and you want to do well.”
Collum spoke passionately about the dedication of referees to their craft and dismissed any suggestion that they would jeopardise their careers for the sake of bias.
“Refereeing took me places as a young kid that I never dreamed I would go to. Why would I jeopardise or risk that to say, ‘I want this team to win or affect this’? I want people to trust me that it’s not the case.”
He also responded to the continued scrutiny referees face, particularly in the west of Scotland, where accusations of bias towards either Rangers or Celtic have long persisted.
“We are barraged by comments in the west of Scotland towards one club or the other – that is not the case. People make genuine decisions, genuine errors, and we are honest. If referees weren’t honest, we would have a problem. It’s 2024; I think we need to move away from that.”
Collum urged fans to stop questioning referees’ backgrounds and to focus on their professionalism instead.
“I would ask people to shift that narrative. Let’s get behind referees rather than try to pick a fault because a person is associated with this or that. They are top referees for a reason, and it’s been a long journey to get there. And when they get there, they want to stay there.”
When asked how referees feel about claims of bias towards the Old Firm clubs, Collum didn’t hold back.
“I think it is insulting because it is questioning people’s integrity. Referees’ integrity is always at the utmost.”
He concluded by reaffirming his focus on quality above all else, regardless of a referee’s background.
“What I would say as well is, people say geographically a referee comes from here or comes from there and has a background, as I mentioned earlier – I don’t care about any of these things. I want quality, and that is what we (the SFA) judge referees on.”