Scottish Football Association chief executive Stewart Regan has called for patience as he continues his bid to radically reform the SFA's disciplinary processes and avert another refereeing crisis.
Scotland's grade one officials last week took the decision to strike, seeking a "fundamental reappraisal" of their relationship with football and society in the midst of increasing abuse and criticism. The domestic fixture list was decimated as a result, using referees drafted in from Luxembourg, Malta and Israel.
Regan has now reiterated his pledge to address the concerns of officials, but warned reforms will take time, saying: "We have already identified the need to make changes to our current disciplinary processes. These changes will lead to significant improvement for the Scottish FA and the game in general."
He added: "We welcome the referees' intention to sit down and play their part in delivering the changes required.
"I reiterate my personal determination to improve the efficiency and transparency of our decision-making. I have received board support in this regard and it is imperative we are given time to put the changes in place.
"This review will also require the patience and support of clubs, fans and the media, all of whom I am sure will recognise that such measures will benefit the game as a whole."
The SFA last week offered referees a range of conciliatory measures, including a blanket ban on comments about match officials, in an effort to get them back on side. But the strike went ahead and further talks will now take place in order to implement reforms.
Regan, meanwhile, was forced to defend the recruitment of foreign officials, insisting the SFA had not hidden the reasons for domestic officials withdrawing their labour.
Polish and Portuguese officials performed U-turns at the 11th hour, while Luxembourg referee Alain Hamer and his Israeli counterpart Eli Hacmon revealed that they may not have taken charge had they known the full reasons for the strike.
Regan said on Sky Sports News on Tuesday: "We spoke to dozens of associations. We sent out a request in which we made it clear that there was likely to be a withdrawal of services because they had received abuse. Whether respective associations had fed that down to individual referees, we'll never know."
Source: PA
