KRIS Boyd has appealed to players, managers and supporters to lay off referees if they make mistakes when Scottish football resumes after a four-and-a-half month shutdown this weekend.
The interview Boyd and Robert Snodgrass did with Willie Collum on their TLC podcast this summer highlighted the intense pressure match officials are under and the horrific personal abuse they are often subjected to.
The former Rangers, Kilmarnock and Scotland striker fears the lengthy lay-off caused by the Covid-19 outbreak may have an adverse affect on the performances of referees and linesmen in the coming weeks.
The Sky Sports pundit, who set up his own mental health charity following the tragic death of his brother in 2016, if hopeful they won’t be made scapegoats for team’s defeats.
“I did a podcast with Willie Collum over the break and it was quite powerful,” said Boyd. “We need give referees some leeway with decisions.
“You have Bobby Madden at Pittodrie on Saturday - he has only had one game to referee in pre-season. We are going to have to be lenient with them and not overly criticise them. It’s going to be their first action for a couple of months and they are not going to be up to speed.
“It can be difficult to referee a game at the best of times so if there’s decisions that are wrong then you have to remember a lot of these guys have been off for a long time and it takes a bit of time to get back to normal and up and running.
“They are going to make mistakes, we get that. But especially this season because, with everything that’s at stake then everyone will be looking to blame someone else for anything that doesn’t go their way.
“I think we need to be careful with the referees. They are human beings and have only had one or two games in the build-up to what is hopefully a fantastic month of football in August. It’s going to take them a few weeks to get back up to speed.
“We need to make sure we look after them as well because the full package of Scottish football will be under the spotlight and we want to showcase it as a fantastic product.”
Sky Sports is the home of the Scottish Premiership. Watch up to 48 games exclusively live on Sky Sports Football and NOW TV.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel