A to Z; Football.

FIFA whistler Willie Young will take charge of his first Scottish Cup final this afternoon.

He's only glad Paul Gascoigne isn't playing - he has already enjoyed one trip at the expense of the Geordie prankster.

Willie, an Ayr United fan as a kid, doesn't care who wins this afternoon as long as he isn't taken back to his days in the juniors with the yellow card count in double figures.

But the Glasgow lawyer admitted his refereeing career almost ended as quickly as it started when he was carted off injured in his first day of training.

And he told Gary Ralston why he enjoys eyeing up the birds on his frequent trips to Eastern Europe on UEFA and FIFA business.

ALL GOING WELL, how will you prepare for the final? As far as possible I'll treat it as a normal game, which means I pack my bag on Friday night and have a bowl of pasta.

I'm given breakfast in bed on Saturday morning, a once-a-week treat from my wife Margot, then read the paper before heading off to the ground at midday.

Pre-match meal is always poached egg and haddock.

I don't have any superstitions, but I can't wait to referee my first Scottish Cup final, although I took charge of the North Qualifying equivalent earlier this season when Peterhead beat Fraserburgh 8-0.

BLUEPRINT FOR CHANGE.

Are there any laws you'd like to see introduced? I've always hankered after the rugby law which allows you to move play 10 yards on for dissent, but there have been too many changes to the game in recent years.

Refs have coped reasonably well with a new law almost every season, but if you make the laws more complex it's more difficult for everyone to follow.

CUP FINAL.

Can you tell us who'll win? I can't, and anyway I'm not a great predictor of scores! I've been in the middle of Rangers and Hearts games twice before and the scoreline is one win each so this is the decider.

It honestly doesn't bother me who wins, as long as it's an exciting final, like the Dundee United-Motherwell match from a few years ago, and I have a quiet game.

DODGY DECISIONS.

Are there any you regret more than most? I regret once allowing a junior game between Maryhill and Greenock to go ahead on an icebound pitch at Lochburn.

There was a big crowd and the players were already warming up in training shoes when I arrived.

I was inexperienced and allowed the game to go ahead, but it was a bad decision as the pitch wasn't playable and I spent the 90 minutes petrified someone would pick up a serious injury, including me.

EMPLOYERS.

How do you wangle so much time off? I'm a managing partner in a company called Brechin, Tindal and Oatts and my colleagues are very understanding.

They realise I'd only be a crabbit so-and-so without my fix of football.

FOOTBALL.

Were you a decent player? I captained the Ayrshire School Select and Roy Aitken and Craig Burley have also played for them in the past.

I also played junior with a club called Craigmark in Dalmellington, but I picked up a knee injury at 19 which effectively ended my career.

At the time I thought my world had ended, but I would never have got as far as a player as I have as a referee.

Addict GIVE us your most embarrassing moment as a ref.

I once refereed an Irvine Meadow-Auchinleck Talbot game and forgot to take the ball out for the start of the second half.

It was 10 minutes into the restart before anyone noticed! Paul Gascoigne also once "accidentally" tripped me when I was running backwards at Raith Rovers.

I felt a foot on mine and did a backward somersault.

He started laughing and so did I.

I could never prove anything.

HOURS.

How many a week do you dedicate to refereeing? Between 15-20, which also includes training three times a week.

On Tuesday and Thursday I work with other refs and it's mostly running and stretching.

Every Sunday I go to the gym too.

During European weeks it's double that because you're away from home for three days.

INJURIES.

Any serious ones during your refereeing career? Yes, on my first night training to be a ref! We played a bounce game afterwards and a tackle resulted in me being carted off to Glasgow Royal Infirmary for a cartilage op.

I've never had to come off during a game although I'm sure a few fans have thought I should.

JUST why did you decide to become a ref? To avoid shopping on a Saturday afternoon.

Seriously, I wanted to stay involved when I couldn't play any longer.

Almost every referee is a football addict.

KITS.

Do you like these new snazzy numbers inspired by English whistlers? I do, because they're more modern and show referees are more go-ahead than people otherwise believe.

LOVED ONES.

Are they understanding of your dedication? Extremely.

Margot is secretary of my official fan club.

Along with my mother and father she's the only member, and I bet it comes as a surprise to some I even have a mother and father.

My two brothers are also Class One referees - John in Scotland and Greig in England.

Greig was keeper for Clyde when they won the Second Division and Craig Brown was boss.

MEDIA.

Is criticism justified and would you like the chance of a right to reply? Occasionally criticism is justified, but the only type I listen to is contained in my supervisor's report.

A lot of criticism in the media comes from managers and I know the emotions of many after games.

I wouldn't like a right to reply because it would only stretch a one-day story over a week.

NAME the biggest influence on your career? My cousin Louis Thow was also a top class referee and encouraged me to take it up then kept me right when I made my decision.

Tom Wharton, George Cumming and my area supervisor Kenny Hope have also been a great help.

Finally, former ref Alan 'Bojangles' Ferguson takes our training and his enthusiasm is incredible.

OLD FIRM.

Do you take a lot of criticism from the fans? I seem to be equally unpopular, so I take that as a compliment I'm doing my job correctly.

I don't think I take any more stick than any other referee and in the main it's good-natured banter.

PROFESSIONALISM.

Should our refs be full-time pros? What do you mean, we already are professionals.

If we were full-time it wouldn't affect our ability to make a correct decision.

QUESTION.

Which one are you most often asked by punters? No surprises - 'What team do you support?' I tell them I supported Ayr United as a boy, but they don't always seem convinced.

Louis Thow's father was vice-chairman at Somerset Park so I used to go there to watch games most weeks before I took up the sport.

They were bottom of the Second Division and then Ally MacLeod came along with players such as Spud Murphy and Dick Malone and they won promotion, even staying in the Premier League for a few seasons.

REPUTATIONS.

Are our whistlers held in high regard throughout the world? Very.

Scottish refs are known to be totally impartial and not influenced by the support, which is vital when the stadium is packed by only one set of fans and perhaps that's because we're used to handling the Old Firm here.

It's a tremendous honour for Scottish referees that Hugh Dallas is one of only 15 European refs who will be at France 98.

Hugh thoroughly deserves it.

Angles SALARY.

Are you paid enough? Referees aren't in the game for money, but the answer is still no, particularly for Premier League appointments.

For those we're paid Pounds 200, Pounds 150 in the First Division and Pounds 130 for the Second.

I'll be paid Pounds 400 for refereeing the final this afternoon which at least is an acknowledgement of the job and the pressures we're under.

TELEVISION.

Are the number of cameras at games these days undermining referees? Far from it, the more the merrier.

I refereed a Sky game recently which had 26 cameras and I welcomed that as it provided the choice of more angles to show decisions I'd made were correct.

We make hundreds of decisions during a game, even decisions not to make decisions if you know what I mean, and I'd rather all angles were covered.

UEFA and FIFA.

What's the biggest game you've covered and the most bizarre? I'm an Eastern European specialist now as I seem to have spent recent years in places such as Ukraine, Yugoslavia, Lithuania and Belarus.

The biggest game was a warm-up match at Windsor Park before Euro 96 involving Northern Ireland and West Germany.

It had a television audience of 40 million and players such as Klinsmann, Matthaus and Sammer were all making their last push for a place in the squad.

The most bizarre was at Tromso in Norway, where Chelsea played in the snow earlier this season.

I took charge of their UEFA Cup tie against Belgian side Ekeren at a time when there was 24 hour daylight.

I spent three days there and it was bizarre - every house had black-out curtains.

They also have 24 hours darkness in the winter and that's why they have so many suicides.

VITRIOL.

How do you deal with over the top or personal criticism? I'm not affected so much by it or else I could never do my job.

It's much worse in small crowds than sell-out occasions anyway as you can hear everything then.

When you speak to fans they appreciate your position much more.

WHAT DO you do to relax away from football? I'm a member of East Renfrewshire Golf Club and like to play on Saturdays outwith the football season.

I've a six handicap.

X FILE.

Tell us something about yourself we didn't already know.

I'm a bird-watcher and have been since I was a kid.

If I'm in a foreign country I like looking at the local birds!

YELLOW CARDS.

What's the biggest number you've ever been forced to dish out? On more than one occasion involving the Ayrshire juniors I've gone into double figures with the yellow, although never more than 10.

I once booked 10 and sent off another at a Kilwinning Rangers-Ardeer match and if my supervisor hadn't been there I would have given up because my actions had no effect.

Afterwards he came into the dressing room and told me every decision I'd taken had been the correct one, which cheered me up slightly.

The second leg of the Airdrie-Hibs play-off last season was the worst atmosphere I'd ever worked in.

The crowd were terrible - everyone involved in that match said they never wanted to go through another like it again.

I showed seven yellow cards, one red and awarded four penalties.

ZZZ.

What bores you to death? The hype over England's chances in the World Cup.

I quite like England and they're a good team who will do well at France but there's no need to be told about it every five minutes by pompous English pundits.