Scotland issued with new code after booze shame

Scotland’s footballers are to be issued with a new code of conduct in a bid to prevent a repeat of the drinking session which saw captain Barry Ferguson and goalkeeper Allan McGregor dropped from Wednesday’s World Cup qualifying win over Iceland.

The Rangers duo arrived back from Saturday’s 3-0 loss away to Holland in the early hours of Sunday morning and then started drinking at the squad’s Loch Lomond hotel.

This reportedly went on for several hours and manager George Burley dropped the pair as a disciplinary measure.

However, the issue was clouded when, in the build-up to Wednesday’s match, it emerged that Ferguson and McGregor would be on the bench.

Home fans at Hampden appeared to side with Burley, booing the names of Ferguson and McGregor, as first international goals from Ross McCormack and Steven Fletcher helped Scotland to an important 2-1 win in Europe zone qualifying Group Nine.

After some of the heat had been taken out of the drinking issue by Scotland’s victory, Scottish Football Association chief executive Gordon Smith issued a statement on Thursday which said: “I have met with George Burley today and we have spoken about the events of the past few days.

“I fully support George’s decision, which was obviously taken with the best interests of the team and the country in mind.

“He knew how vital it was to win on Wednesday and the action he took was deigned to ensure that we got the three points.

“What is clear, though, is that this type of incident must not be allowed to happen again.

“George, like any other manager, relies on his players to act in a responsible manner while they are representing their country.

“We will be issuing players with a code of conduct and will be tightening up arrangements within the team hotel.

“Where any player does not meet the standards required of a Scotland international, they will be dealt with swiftly and effectively. We now consider this matter to be closed.”

However, despite Smith’s statement, doubts remain as to whether Burley is in complete control of the team after reports emerged that he was preparing to send both Ferguson and McGregor home until a players’ delegation intervened to make him change his mind and keep them with the squad.

Manchester United midfielder Darren Fletcher was one of several Scotland players who spoke out in defence of the Rangers pair, saying: “Allan and Barry are valuable members of our squad and it’s great to have them in the squad, and they will be big players for Scotland in the future.

“That’s the unanimous view. Barry’s a great captain and he has got our backing.”

Scotland now look to be in a good position to earn a shot at qualifying for South Africa via the play-offs that will feature eight of the nine second-placed teams in the European qualifying zone.

Burley’s squad are three points clear of Iceland in second place in the group with three matches left to play — away to Norway in August then at home to Macedonia and group leaders Holland in September.

This is not the first time Burley has been involved in controversy with Rangers players since becoming Scotland manager in January 2008.

Between the opening World Cup ties against Macedonia and Iceland, Rangers midfielder Lee McCulloch retired from international football.

Then Kris Boyd announced he would never again play for Scotland while Burley was manager after being left on the bench against Norway in October.