The SFA have been snubbed by UEFA with regards to officials for this summer’s Euro 2020 tournament and rightly so.
There will be NO Scottish referees involved in the tournament it has emerged.
FourFourTwo released the list of whistles for this summer’s competition.
The list of 18 official Euro 2020 referees are as follows:
Felix Brych (Germany)
Cüneyt Çakır (Turkey)
Carlos Del Cerro Grande (Spain)
Andreas Ekberg (Sweden)
Orel Grinfeeld (Israel)
Ovidiu Alin Hategan (Romania)
Sergei Karasev (Russia)
Istvan Kovacs (Romania)
Bjorn Kuipers (Netherlands)
Danny Makkelie (Netherlands)
Antonio Miguel Mateu Lahoz (Spain)
Michael Oliver (England)
Daniele Orsato (Italy)
Artur Manuel Ribeiro Soares Dias (Portugal)
Daniel Siebert (Germany)
Anthony Taylor (England)
Clément Turpin (France)
Slavko Vinčić (Slovenia)
Scottish referees really don’t meet the criteria for the tournament and it’s little wonder they were overlooked.
Check out the criteria involved:
1. Experience hosting at a previous international tournament, such as a Euros or World Cup
2. A record of officiating high-profile Champions League and Europa League fixtures
3. Track record in domestic football (match performance, level of discipline, number of mistakes made)
3. Experience working with video assistance domestically
4. Languages spoken (a good grasp of English is a must)
5. Ability to control players and clearly explain decisions
6. How many referees from same nation already selected
Our referees barely grasp the English language!
It’s a major issue in Scottish football. The standard of refereeing is hopeless and inconsistent.
It’s a part-time role and leaves very little room for personal improvement. Some of our referees have officiated international qualifiers and Champions League games in the past but when it comes to an elite list, we should be nowhere near it.
The way the SFA choose their referees and hand out big games to certain individuals on a regular basis speaks to cronyism within the ranks.
If Scottish football is to improve, we can’t go straight to paying for VAR, we must get full time refs and a complete overhaul of the system which doesn’t allow for new whistlers to come in and have a proper go at some of the bigger games on the Scottish football calendar.
Scotland will at least be at the Euros and will be hoping to make a good account of themselves after an absence of two decades from a major competition.
