I've a simple theory re this issue: Scotland is a small country; a small number of people in the country are interested in refereeing footie matches and progressing to a higher level of refereeing. Hence the general standard would naturally be poor and that is indeed the case!
My nomination for the worst referee but IMO a biased one as well is Craig Thomson, a Scottish referee of whom certain Hibs fans have carried out the equivalent of a research study of his ref misdemeanours in Hibs matches that covers a period of approx. 10 years. The results are damning and raise other questions re the way the refereeing system in Scotland should be run! Ref incompetence is an issue but I think the SFA should naturally introduce a formal mandatory ref declaration similar to the one currently operated by the English FA. It would be a formal declaration of any football team that any Scottish ref supports or has a significant interest in. That info would then be used when assigning football matches to the group of recognised Scottish refs and done to ensure impartiality prevails as much as possible.
My nomination for the worst referee but IMO a biased one as well is Craig Thomson, a Scottish referee of whom certain Hibs fans have carried out the equivalent of a research study of his ref misdemeanours in Hibs matches that covers a period of approx. 10 years. The results are damning and raise other questions re the way the refereeing system in Scotland should be run! Ref incompetence is an issue but I think the SFA should naturally introduce a formal mandatory ref declaration similar to the one currently operated by the English FA. It would be a formal declaration of any football team that any Scottish ref supports or has a significant interest in. That info would then be used when assigning football matches to the group of recognised Scottish refs and done to ensure impartiality prevails as much as possible.