It might be the festive period, a time of generosity and goodwill to all men – but SPL bosses aren’t getting into the Christmas spirit.
They have refused to pay £100 to put up referee Dougie McDonald in a hotel ahead of the Aberdeen v’s Rangers match at lunchtime this weekend.
In an act of Scrooge-like money-grabbing, they wouldn’t save Dougie McDonald the early trip from Edinburgh to Aberdeen, even though Scotland’s lower division referees do enjoy the benefit of overnight expenses for long distance games.
McDonald will now have to travel 115-miles in the early hours of the morning, in the freezing cold temperatures, if he hopes to make it to the game at least 2 and a half hours before kickoff – as the SPL insist.
“We don’t expect the public to feel sorry for us but we are asking for a degree of professionalism. Would Paul Le Guen expect his players to get up at six o’clock in the morning to head north for the game?” said one SPL referee.
Traveling long distances can make you feel tired, but Dougie McDonald will have to be at his best to take charge of a potentially volatile match between two sides who have graced similar encounters with brawls, off-the-ball incidents and fan participation.
Although, SPL secretary Ian Blair doesn’t sympathize with McDonalds problem, he said “We have a method in place of paying referees’ expenses involved in traveling to and from SPL matches which has been unchanged since 1998. There is a mechanism in place in the event where someone has to travel a long distance home after a game in the evening.”
“There is a mechanism in place where they can claim hotel expenses for any costs incurred after the game but there is no mechanism for claiming expenses in advance of the game.”
“In the event the referees would like to discuss the arrangements then we would be glad to do so but we’re not about to do so by means of the media.”
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Do the SPL referees deserve to be treated with a bit more respect? Only if they treat the rule book with some when they are at Parkhead or Ibrox!!!!
if spl bosses are scrooges, does that make dougie mcdonald tiny tim
It doesn’t matter about the performances of him or anything he should get a hotel room. Let’s hope he falls asleep half way through he game (not at half time!)
Good little read – of course they should have rooms paid for, and rooms aren’t cheap these days! Surely the SPL don’t want a ref to say “I made a mistake because I had a bad night before” or “a long journey and was stuck in traffic”. Because if that happens, they’ll have no defence, surely.
I’d rather the cash was spent on refereeing courses than beds after today…
Make them work for it! Seriously – if they perform well enough, give them rooms. If not, or if they then are poor, make them pay for their own – nothing for free in this life!
Wish United had paid for McDonald to visit the optician before the Hearts match aswell, never a handball!