Gordon Strachan backs Hugh Dallas over Pope slur – whose rancid now?
Strachan’s defence of Hugh Dallas sparks outrage, as questions over SFA secrecy, double standards, and a “rancid” football culture refuse to go away.
In the past few days, former Celtic and Middlesborough manager Gordon Strachan has exclusively talked to the Daily Record’s Keith Jackson on all things related to Scottish Football, including the recent Hugh Dallas Popegate scandal.
The recently sacked Boro manager claimed how he was among the first to offer, the shamed former Head of Referee Development, sympathy after he was sacked by the SFA. Strachan believes that Dallas was the victim of mob mentality when he was sacked for sending an offensive email about the Pope, related to Child Abuse.
Strachan said, “I contacted Hugh to offer my support and sympathy because he was a victim of this mob mentality. People wanted to get him. I think he’s a good man. I didn’t have contact with him much when he was refereeing, although I met him at a game and he was full of self-importance. But maybe you need to be like that as a referee. He was trying to do a good job for the SFA. If he had got the sack for trying to cover up what happened up at Tannadice I wouldn’t have had a problem with it, although it would have been harsh. But to be sacked over that email? Ridiculous.”
Strachan continued, “At the time of the Hugh Dallas sacking I read an article from Jim Traynor who said the only thing to be offended about was the fact it was making fun of child abuse. Jim was right. But it was made out that Hugh was guilty of attacking a certain religion and I couldn’t get my head around that. How many of us have had questionable emails sent to us? I get them from my brother-in-law all the time, there’s something to offend everybody but it’s meant as a joke. You can’t stop that. What about when Frankie Boyle is on TV having a pop at everybody and everything? What’s the difference?
Yes but Gordon, he not only received it but also forwarded them from his official SFA email address. Yes we have also received questionable emails, but at our work email address? And then forwarded it to others in work also? The SFA IT Policy was breached and while there were other culprits who did not lose their jobs, but does that imply Dallas was sacked for other issues also? Well former linesman Stewart Craven did state that Dallas allegedly bullied and harassed him, and the SFA said they were going to investigate the claims.
Strachan added, “When I spoke to Hugh he was trying to explain himself to me. I told him there was no need – I’ve lived up there, I know what it’s like. He was telling me personal stuff and trying to make it clear he was not a bigot. But that’s the way we are now, everyone is so scared of being branded something or other that we have to explain ourselves even when we have done nothing wrong. The problem is that the zealots had taken control of the situation. Hugh was having to answer to them.”
Dallas was in an important and high-profile position within a public body – the SFA – and therefore whatever he did was sure to hit the headlines, especially if it was controversial. Forwarding an email would lead to disciplinary action, but the SFA like all employers HAVE to follow their own disciplinary procedures – yes I know how funny that sounds – otherwise they are open to be sued for unfair dismissal and lose. The question is what are the SFA hiding? We all know that there is something else underlying within this whole issue, unrelated to that email. Was Craven’s comments about Dallas’ bullying and harassment of other referees true? Did Dallas state to SFA Chief Executive Stewart Regan that he could stop the referees striking if his indiscretion with the email system was forgotten about? Well we won’t know unless the SFA insider who leaked the email in the first place comes forward and spills the beans.
But all this does not excuse Strachan’s own comments. He stated two days ago that the Scottish game was rancid. However Strachan’s apologist comments in regards to Dallas, is nothing short of what he was peddling two days ago – rancid!
Sadly this Football Blogger and other Bloggers & Fans opinions are not seen as passion for football. Strachan seems fit to label such passionate fans as internet keyboard cowboys. I guess I need to get my John Wayne strut sorted now and dress up like Clint Eastwood in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly – and no I don’t mean a documentary of Celtic’s play under Gordon Strachan, that would just be the internet keyboard cowboy in me coming through.