Former top ref Madden reckons Collum isn't managing SPFL referees properly

Bobby Madden says Scottish referees are KILLING the game – and pointed the finger at Willie Collum for failing to have a 'positive impact' on Scottish football.

As ever in the pressure cooker of Scottish football, the officials have been under fire this season for a number of high-profile VAR and on-field calls. But former top SFA and FIFA ref Madden reckons it's a more nuanced issue that's negatively impacting the Scottish game.

Speaking on his So Near Yet So VAR podcast alongside retired English ref Mark Clattenburg, he reckons referees slowing matches down by giving needless fouls is the biggest problem with officiating. And he believes that's down to head of refereeing Collum, who he feels is letting his own style of refereeing bleed in.

Madden said: “This is a comment I get from people involved in football in Scotland. Referees in Scotland are killing the game and by killing the game, I mean stopping at every opportunity. If it’s in the defensive third or the middle of the field of play and I can tell you why this is. The way Willie Collum refereed was ‘safe refereeing,’ don’t let the game breathe, don’t let a 50/50 go. It kills the game. I was very much 'let it go within reason'.”

Clattenburg then chimed in to suggest it's not the individual officials' fault as he said: “The referees are only following the model of what their bosses are telling them to do. If the bosses are how they always refereed, that goes into the training and development, who’s going to follow it? I’ve been a head of refereeing, but I’d never tell a referee how to manage a game. That’s an individual thing.”

And Madden doubled down – saying Collum should take the blame, just as an under-pressure manager would if his players weren't performing. He said: “They’re all stopping the game. I see it every game I watch. I’m talking about top referees who are very, very good referees, I see them giving soft free-kicks that should never be given because it looks like a free-kick.

“It’s not a free-kick but it’s safe refereeing. It’s in an area of the pitch where nobody’s going to talk about it. But it stops the game. It’s 30 seconds to restart the game. Rubbish. Let the game go. When your team isn’t performing well, people look at the manager don’t they? So Willie, I think, has not had a positive impact in his current position. That’s what I’d say."

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