Brendan Rodgers has offered up a unique solution to help Scotland’s under-fire referees.
The Hoops boss has called for English referees to help ease the burden of pressure that’s placed on Scottish officials.
Referees have been in the eye of the storm recently, most notably in Rangers’ 4-0 win over St Mirren and 4-2 win over Aberdeen.
Rodgers believes the use of English referees would give the referees in Scotland a much-needed break.
“Open it up and have the best referees that could maybe come from England or Wales, or wherever” he told the Herald.
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“That will also help the local refs. It’s about constant education but it doesn’t shine the torch on the same referees all of the time.”
Rodgers is correct in what he says, referees do need a break from the spotlight. The likes of Andrew Dallas and John Beaton could do with a few weeks off at a time.
The chances of referees getting behind Rodgers’ idea would have to be slim and none however. They would feel that the English and Welsh referees would undermine their authority.
The way things are going with referees, it wouldn’t be that much of a shock if another strike took place. Scottish referees went on strike in 2010 for a week, upset with the criticism they faced.
That lead to foreign referees being used for a week, before the Scottish officials returned. Things aren’t that drastic yet, but it wouldn’t be a shock if it happened again.