Under-fire Referee’s Chief Hugh Dallas jumps before he is pushed
Disgraced by scandal and squeezed by mounting pressure, referees’ chief Hugh Dallas quits amid claims of sectarian controversy, strike manipulation, and a governance crisis at Hampden.
His position was untenable after recent revelations of his alleged bullying and harassment of former linesman Steven Craven, the whole referee strike fiasco, but ultimately the sectarian email he forwarded from his SFA account. But before he could be pushed out of the door at Hampden, Hugh Dallas walked the plank and took the plunge ending his time in the post he took up in June 2009.
SFA Chief Executive Stewart Regan launched an investigation into reports that Dallas had forwarded an email via his SFA account about the Pope’s visit to Scotland back in September 16th. Pressure built on Dallas and the SFA to do something, when the Catholic Church got involved demanding action if he was guilty. And the next day a disciplinary hearing was launched.
Following the investigation, reports stated that the referee was taking a few days to consider his future and now he has fallen on his sword.
It is just the latest news to shock Scottish Football and ultimately the SFA to its core, and comes at a time when referees under his charge downed whistles and voted on strike action. And despite talks and assurances from the SFL, SPL and the SFA, assurances that would protect the referees, the men in the middle still voted to go ahead with the strike action.
But according to Phil MacGiollaBhain, the strike action was more to do with posturing than anything else. And the same investigative journalist who was privy to information from an unnamed SFA source, stated that Hugh Dallas was allegedly the man pulling the strings of the strike action, and offered to get the strike called off IF the email investigation was called off.
Certainly if all the allegations were true, coupled with the email incident and pressure from powerful quarters, it was only a matter of when not if Dallas would have been sacked over it all.
The SFA will now look out for a new Referee’s Chief and already the internet is pointing towards former whistler Willie Young as his replacement.