No Official Backing For Dallas

25 November 2010 22:15
Hugh Dallas didn't even get the 'board is right behind him' speech from his boss, Stewart.Regan The SFA have refused to comment on the future of head of referees development Hugh Dallas after the Catholic Church intervened in the row over an alleged offensive email.  Wednesday saw the the church call for Dallas' head if it was proved he passed on a "tasteless message" relating to the Pope's visit to Scotland in September. And Dallas' future remained uncertain tonight as SFA chief executive Stewart Regan failed come out and back his man outright when he said : "I'm not prepared to comment on anything relating to any members of my staff. We are undertaking a process at the moment and it would be unfair to make any comment on any member of staff until that process is completed." The allegations first surfaced in a Sunday newspaper article on 7 November which were followed up by Regan. The SFA chief executive said in a statement on 10 November: "I can confirm I have looked into the circulation of the email reported in the media at the weekend. Let me state categorically that I do not condone the transmission of any email content that might cause offence to anyone. I have spoken with staff and the matter will now be dealt with internally, in line with the Scottish FA's information systems acceptable use policy." However, in the week when Scotland's category one referees announced a weekend of strike action, the director of the Catholic media office, Peter Kearney wrote to Regan demanding swift action. Kearney wrote: "I am writing to you to express my concern at an allegation made recently against a senior official of the SFA, Mr Hugh Dallas, the Head of Referee development. He has been accused of sending an email from his SFA email account on the day of the Pope's visit to Scotland, which was totally unprofessional, gratuitously insulting to the Pope, deeply offensive to the Catholic community of Scotland, and an incitement to anti-Catholic sectarianism." Kearney asked that the results of the internal investigation be made public and if the allegations are proven that Dallas be "removed from his post". Regan backed Dallas earlier in November after the former World Cup referee categorically refuted allegations that he had bullied officials. Former assistant referee Steven Craven accused Dallas after quitting the game following his involvement in the infamous Dougie McDonald penalty incident last month, a decision which sparked much of the controversy that led to the referees' strike. Editor Ger Harley (ger@scottishfitba net)Admin Team (admin@scottishfitba net)This is Scottish-Fitba.Net

Source: FOOTYMAD