Deadline set for Scottish referees' strike talks
A deadline of Thursday 25 November has been set by the Scottish Football Association to resolve talks with referees and avoid an officials' strike affecting the Scottish football weekend fixture list.
Category one referees had voted to pull out of officiating games on the weekend of 27-28 November due to concerns over the levels of abuse directed at them by clubs, managers and fans as well as persistent questioning of their competency.
Talks were held between the officials and the SFA on Tuesday 23 November in a bid by the regulatory body to avoid the strike, which has placed Scottish Premier League and Scottish Football League fixtures under threat.
However, the SFA has set a deadline so it can carry out a contingency plan if a deal cannot be met.
According to The Guardian, SFA chief executive Stewart Regan said: "We are hopeful that, if we can resolve the current issues that the referees have, then our own referees will be taking to the field. If not, then we will be preparing a contingency plan
to implement by Thursday of this week.
“We are hopeful that talks will be fruitful this week and they can officiate at matches at the weekend. We are hopeful that we can come to a satisfactory conclusion. (The strike) appears to be about making a stand and withdrawing labour for the weekend but
we are hopeful that, if we can give them assurances about support going forward, we can get them to rescind that decision."
If an agreement cannot be reached, the SFA will attempt to bring in foreign-based officials to take charge of the six SPL games at the very least, with SFL games being a lower priority.
However, referees in Iceland have said they will not step in as a show of solidarity for their Scottish colleagues, while Welsh and Irish officials are also cool on the proposals.
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