George Peat last night made a case for the defence of Scottish football's beleaguered referees by accusing managers of using them as scapegoats to deflect from their own team's failings.
George Peat last night made a case for the defence of Scottish football's beleaguered referees by accusing managers of using them as scapegoats to deflect from their own team's failings.
The Scottish FA's president spoke after Walter Smith, the Rangers manager, submitted a letter to the general purposes committee (GPS) at Hampden Park explaining comments aimed at assistant referee Tom Murphy for his performance during the recent 0-0 draw with Motherwell at Fir Park.
Murphy is one of a number of officials who have evoked the ire of managers in the Clydesdale Bank Premier League after a spate of high-profile errors. The GPS, at the behest of their new chairman, Rod Petrie, have even taken steps to withhold information on pending cases of disciplinary action in an effort to alleviate the pressure of what he perceives to be a media-driven debate.
Speaking at yesterday's fourth-round draw for the Homecoming Scottish Cup, Peat expressed his view that criticising refereeing performance standards was a convenient get-out for under-pressure managers.
"A lot of managers do it to deflect the attention away from their own team's deficiencies," he said yesterday. "I really believe that.
"Managers are always under pressure: if you lose two games in a row now you are under pressure. The referees, though, are under even more pressure and a lot of it is unfair. There are more televised matches than ever before and as a result more scrutiny. I listen to some pundits criticising referees' decisions but they still can't make their minds up after seeing it three or four times on replay."
Peat believes the weekly recriminations are making it impossible to attract a new generation of match official.
"At times, it is only the top people in the game who understand how hard it is," he said. "It makes it harder for us to attract referees. At the moment we have kids who might want to get involved but who look at the hassle and criticism and think maybe it's not for me'. We have a recruitment drive on and we hope that helps."
None the less, with the SFA having removed the Whistleblower section from their official website - which had been intermittently used by referees to explain contentious and even erroneous decisions - Peat also agreed there ought to be greater accountability for errors.
"I think it is a good thing if referees can explain themselves sometimes and I think it is perfectly feasible for them to explain," he said. "There has been a review of the Whistleblower site as some people felt it was not working right and, indeed, only feeding the frenzy."
Peat looked forward to an exciting round of Homecoming Scottish Cup fixtures, including an all-Edinburgh tie and potential Ayrshire derby. He believes the competition has added lustre now that Celtic no longer have any European distractions beyond their final Champions League Group E match, against Villarreal, and made pointed reference to Rangers' claims of tiredness after reaching the final of last season's UEFA Cup, claiming there will be "no excuses" of European involvement for either half of the Old Firm beyond Christmas.
Peat also refutes suggestions that Scottish football is in crisis with five representatives - Celtic, Rangers, Motherwell, Queen of the South and Hibernian - having failed to record a single victory in Europe this season.
"I have to admit it is very disappointing not to have any of our clubs involved in Europe beyond Christmas but I think there has been an over-reaction," he said.
"I do not think the situation is as bad as people are making out and I do not think the obstacles we face as a country are insurmountable. In the meantime, I hope it makes the league more exciting and there will be no excuses this time. It should also give the Scottish Cup an edge since there will be no European football to take away some of the focus."
