The Scottish FA has referred a significant volume of threatening and abusive emails to Police Scotland after personal and professional contact details of Saturday’s Old Firm referee, Kevin Clancy, were published online following the derby match.
The association’s security and integrity manager has been liaising with Clancy and Police Scotland following a series of unacceptable messages being sent via email and phone over the holiday weekend. We offer our full support to Kevin and reiterate our wider support to the referee community.
Ian Maxwell, Scottish FA Chief Executive: "The nature of the messages goes way beyond criticism of performance and perceived decision-making - some are potentially criminal in nature and include threats and abuse towards Kevin and his family. We have referred the correspondence to the police and condemn this behaviour in the strongest possible terms, as well as the posting of a referee’s personal details online with the sole purpose of causing distress. Football is our national game. It improves and saves lives. Without referees, there is no game, and while decisions will always be debated with or without the use of VAR, we cannot allow a situation to develop where a referee’s privacy and safety, and those of his family, are compromised. We all have a responsibility to protect our game and those essential to it."
The SFA can also confirm the Referee Operations team have responded to Rangers’ request for an explanation for an on-field decision involving Alfredo Morelos.