Scottish bosses take vow of silence over referees

Scottish Premier League managers have joined forces to take a vow of silence over controversial decisions by officials for the rest of the season.

The idea was suggested at a recent Football Working Group attended by several managers, including Rangers boss Walter Smith and SPL executive chairman Lex Gold, and will now be put into practice.

Smith admits post-match criticism from bosses has put too much pressure on referees this season and he has backed the agreement between all 12 top-flight managers to refrain from discussing referees after games.

“It's a step forward and a show of intent from managers that there is an acceptance that there are too many headlines being grabbed by the fact that we may be a little critical of referees at times,” Smith said.

“It has put them under an undue pressure, especially in recent months. When it was brought up at the meeting, all the lads who were there were in agreement that it would be a good thing to try.

“We hope it will take a bit of pressure off the referees. It's an interesting development and one we were all in agreement should happen.”

Celtic boss Gordon Strachan added: “I've been there myself but we think we should take the pressure off referees a bit.

“I've been to games, and I've heard people talking against us about referees, and they've missed the beauty of the game.

“They've missed the good goals and the good performances, because everybody talks about refereeing decisions.

“If we want to promote the game properly, we must promote good goals and good play and there has been a lot of that this season. “Whether it works or not, I don't know, but it's worth a try.”