ROBOREF

A FORMER top Scottish whistler last night claimed the SFA are trying to breed a generation of RoboRefs.

Brian McGinlay, who was regularly put in charge of potentially explosive games, accused the Scottish game's rulers of wanting to produce automatons to handle matches in future.

He insists they want referees to take a much harder line with offenders and are getting exactly what they want with disciplinary figures that are going through the roof while managers' confidence in officials hits rock-bottom.

Iain Brines gave the governors exactly what they wanted on Sunday by booking eight players and sending off Hearts' Greek defender Takis Fyssas as Celtic fought back from 2-0 down to win an incident-packed thriller 3-2 at Tynecastle.

McGinlay said: "The SFA want to breed a generation of robotic referees who are right for the times.

"I was at Tynecastle and thought Brines looked slightly out of his depth but I also detected a horrible lack of respect for the match official and that's commonplace now.

"It's almost as if the experienced players know referees like him have been hand-picked by the SFA to be fast-tracked to the top in the Premier League.

"The long-term ambition is for one of them to do a Hugh Dallas and make it to the World Cup finals.

"Privately, there's annoyance that no Scottish official will be going to Germany so soon after Hugh was fourth official at the final in Yokohama in 2002.

"But in the meantime, the game is being handled by manufactured referees rather than the experienced products of a system to develop talented officials.

"There are certain offences which have got to merit a yellow card and there's no longer any room for the referee to ignore those and run the game by strength of personality. Kicking the ball away is a caution from RoboRef and that's an end to it."

Finger-wagging, card-wielding, unyielding Brines is part of a group of match officials being coached by former top whistler Dallas under an SFA agreement.

Dallas put out more fires on the park than Red Adair during a controversy-strewn career that led him to his role in the World Cup Final between Brazil and Germany.

Now that he has retired, the SFA have put the skills honed during years of volcanic action to use in schooling those they hope will be the top referees of tomorrow.

Dallas' class comprises Brines, Craig Thomson, Charlie Richmond and Dougie McDonald. And they've already started to make Dallas' time at the top look like a period of quiet contemplation.

Hearts are furious with Brines for sending off Fyssas and have lodged an appeal after complaining that he failed to take similar action when Celtic's Bobo Balde tripped Deividas Cesnauskis.

Brines has already clocked up 34 cautions and three orderings-off this season.

Thomson, who has 24 bookings and three red cards on his cv to date, was last up to his neck in mayhem when he sent off Rangers defender Sotirios Kyrgiakos and awarded Dunfermline an extra-time penalty that enabled them to grab a 3-3 draw.

Rangers manager Alex McLeish was so angry at the number of minutes added on he made it sound as if the game had been timed by a calendar instead of a watch.

McDonald has booked 28 players in the SPL this season and survived the trauma of Celtic's 3- 0 league win over Rangers.

McGinlay said: "The SFA must have been in a sweat over the way that game would go but they got out of jail because it went perfectly for the referee due to the one-sided nature of the match.

"Barring a disaster, these men are going to handle the major matches because the SFA have decided that's the way it has to be."

Richmond has booked 16 players in two games - Hibs' win over Motherwell and Rangers' victory against Dundee United - as well as sending Easter Road boss Tony Mowbray to the stand and landing him with a six-match touchline ban.

In total, Richmond has had a whopping 47 yellow cards and two early baths on his record for this season.

McGinlay said: "I'd have thought that was excessive. But the SFA didn't want individual personalities putting a different interpretation on matches. They want automatons.

Rookie refs being put under the charge of time-served match officials is a scheme the SFA have put in place to recognise the loss of experienced men such as Dallas, Willie Young and John Rowbotham.

Dallas' next coaching session with his pupils is later this month - but community police officer Brines won't be in trouble with the SFA over his performance at Tynecastle.

Record Sport understands he will be given a pass mark by the SPL delegate.

Team bosses are no longer allowed to give whistlers a mark because the practice fell into disrepute on the back of bitterness.

An SFA insider said: "Losing managers were giving referees nothing out of ten because of spite if they lost. So it was decided SPL delegates should submit a report to the SFA along with the referee supervisor's."

TV viewers who watched Sunday's drama unfold were taken aback by Brines' aggressive approach to both sets of players.

But that won't rate a mention in the reports submitted by SPL delegate Alan Dick or the referee's supervisor George Smith.

The SFA insider said: "Ian was more laid back at the start of the season but he's been advised that there's nothing wrong with the occasional finger-wagging in public if it helps keep the players in check.

"The SFA have to regard referees like Ian, Thomson, Richmond and McDonald as the future. They can't keep relying on Mike McCurry, Stuart Dougal and Kenny Clark to carry the burden of Old Firm games.

"A far as Sunday's game is concerned, the governing body will take the view that there are days when the referee would need eyes in the back of his head to maintain good order."

As Dallas - who was felled by a coin during an explosive Old Firm match in 1999 - will testify, the assistance of rear view mirrors might be a help when the going really gets tough.

Or else RoboRef will need RoboCop.

Taken from the Daily Record