DOUGAL: BOSSES DON'T KNOW RULES

RAGING ref Stuart Dougal has blasted SPL bosses and claimed they don't know the rules of football.

Scotland's No.1 whistler accused managers AND players of snubbing the game's laws. And he claims they should be FORCED to learn.

The ref branded bosses clueless and said: "Sometimes I wonder if they're deliberately unaware of the rules."

Dougal's outburst comes after he sent off Celtic gaffer Gordon Strachan and Hearts No.2 John McGlynn in a Tynecastle bust-up.

Strachan will appeal his two game ban and Dougal's words are sure to fan the flames of the row.

The whistler said: "If you're an electrician you go through various diplomas and tests.

"If you're a lawyer or doctor you go through qualifications.

"But when you go through football it's only in the last couple of years that the young guys go through a course on the laws of the game."

Dougal was at the centre of a new storm yesterday after sending off Lee Miller in Dundee United's 0-0 draw at Kilmarnock.

He gave the United striker a second yellow for elbowing Frazer Wright but Miller said: "The sending off was harsh. I went up for a header and my eyes were fixed on the ball."

There was more controversy in Falkirk's draw with Hearts at Tynecastle when Kenny Milne was only shown a yellow card for pushing Jambos star Roman Bednar to the deck.

The Czech striker accused ref John Underhill of bias and said: "If it's a Hearts player it's 100 per cent a red card."

Bairns boss John Hughes was also sent off by Underhill for running on to the pitch in another day of drama at Tynecastle.

Dougal was the man in the firing line last week in the capital as Strachan had a go at him after Celtic's 2-1 defeat.

He has suffered abuse from players in the past and was furious last season when Celtic's Neil Lennon landed just a three game ban for manhandling him at the end of a 3-1 Ibrox defeat.

And Dougal reckons moaning from players and bosses is one of the main reasons refs are left with no room for leniency.

He said: "Common sense is there for refs to use. But one of the reasons why we have more black and white decisions is because players and coaches wanted that.

"Maybe common sense has been taken out of the game - not from the referees but because of others wanting this consistency.

"A challenge in one game might be a yellow card or it might not be. However, in another it might be a stonewall yellow because of the type of game.

"Refereeing is not black and white. It's a feeling for the game."

Dougal's comments come just days after clubs snubbed the chance to talk over issues at the annual refs' meeting last Sunday.

Only three SPL sides turned up - Rangers, Motherwell and Hibs - while just six of the SFL's 30 teams sent a delegate.

Strachan attended last year but later claimed it was a waste of time.

Taken from the Sunday Mail