Who would want to be a referee, eh? After the last week, not many I would surmise. 

The mere thought sends a grisly shiver down my spine. Imagine being slaughtered by everyone in the stadium no matter what you did. It would bring back bad memories of my playing career for a start. 

However, this week has been forgettable for our men in the middle. In fact, it has been a truly bonkers week in the crazy world of Scottish fitba’.

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There has been no shortage of telling decisions to reflect on, from the Scott Sinclair penalty in the League Cup final that Craig Thomson got badly wrong, to the red card awarded by Willie Collum to Ryan Jack for leaving one on Stevie May yesterday, and what came in between. 

However, this is a disclaimer for the next two things I am about to say. Firstly, I have sympathy for referees, really, something I’d never have dreamt of uttering in my playing days. And secondly, Willie Collum got two big decisions right.Because here’s the thing. 

Referees don’t get a second look, or multiple angles delivered from people’s mobiles, or, in terms of the footage shot of the Callum McGregor incident from the back of the main stand at Fir Park, on a Nokia 6210.

Being totally honest, my first instinct watching the Scott Sinclair incident was that it was a penalty, while with McGregor, my initial reaction was it was never a penalty. 

With the benefit of a replay I changed my mind on both, proving, if anything, that it is near impossible for referees to get tight decisions correct all of the time.

We actually have the technology for big decisions, in the much-vaunted VAR, but when are we going to actually start using it here? In the case of McGregor, Willie Collum, got it right, yet many disagree.

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From my perspective,  it was clever play from McGregor, to get across the defender then stand his ground. One of the first lessons I was taught coming through as a kid at Hibs came from the wily Keith Wright, 
my under-16s manager, namely, get in front of people in the box and then to get my body between the defender and the ball. 

That meant if a defender had an impetuous nibble and got nothing on the ball, it was a foul. Luis Suarez is a master at it. It’s not cheating or buying fouls. It is just great striker play. 

David Fernandez at Livingston was another who used all his guile against markers. In fact Steve Archibald, then the manager of Airdrie and not a bad striker himself, urged me to watch how Fernandez positioned his body. 

If a defender wanted to win the ball, he would have to come through the player first. 

And that is a foul. And it’s exactly what Andy Rose of Motherwell did to McGregor. Penalty kick.

The other major call Collum made this week came when sending off Ryan Jack during what was a fantastic win up at Pittodrie for Rangers yesterday. 

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I had my say on social media. It was a dreadful tackle, and a definite red card. 

I thought it when I saw the challenge live, and haven’t wavered after several replays.

Jack wins the ball. But his follow through was high, reckless and could easily have broken Stevie May’s leg. It is a free hit, so to speak, if you want to leave a bit on an opponent, almost the perfect opportunity 
if you want to be cynical and clinical.

Current and ex-professionals will know exactly what I mean. In fact, anyone who has played football will. That’s why I was not surprised when the likes of Kris Commons and Kris Boyd condemned the tackle straight after the game. 

I have been the victim of that type of tackle myself, and like May, was lucky to come away unscathed. The ball is there to be won and you go to win the tackle. But a player knows that once you have won that ball, you can follow through on an opponent.

There was no pace in the tackle, just force and some quick thinking. Jack knew exactly what he was doing and Collum made the call,
But confirmation of his decision could have been instant, with VAR. Those replays, which should be used to help referees, often condemn them, or open then to unnecessary criticism. How stupid is that?