Former Hearts and Hibs midfielder, turned pundit, Michael Stewart, has spoken out about under fire Scottish referees.
General performance levels of referees in the SPL have come under scrutiny, after a series of bad decisions this season.
Rangers have been on the receiving end of several of them, including Willie Collum’s bizarre sending off of Daniel Candeias against St Mirren.
As recently as Sunday, a poor decision by the officials cost Rangers all three points against Dundee. Kyle Lafferty wrongly had a first-half goal ruled out for offside.
While they seem to have had more than their share, it isn’t just Rangers on the receiving end.
Aberdeen were furious at Sam Cosgrove’s dismissal at Ibrox on Wednesday, while Dundee are set to appeal the decision to dismiss Nathan Ralph against the Gers on Sunday.
Simply not good enough
Most people recognise that officiating is a difficult job. However, a certain standard still needs to be maintained.
BBC Sport Pundit, Michael Steward, believes that current performances are “not good enough.”
“We’re nearly halfway through the season and I don’t think there’s been a weekend when there hasn’t been a big call that is wrong”, he added in his analysis of the situation.
“The core message needs to be, ‘take a second, calm down’. There doesn’t have to be this urgency to make decisions.”
Rangers will certainly agree with the former Scotland midfielder. Poor decisions have resulted in players missing matches through suspension and points being dropped.
When so much is at stake, a poor decision can’t decide fixtures week after week. With season defining fixtures looming in December, the standard simply has to improve.
