Too big a pay gap between our refs

THE disparity between payments for referees taking charge of SPFL Premiership games and officials — often the same fellows, in many cases — being handed control of Championship matches is definitely far too great. The strange circumstances of this season mean that a ref in charge of the Edinburgh derby or Hearts v Rangers at Tynecastle has been pocketing less than £200 for his hugely-demanding, deeplydissected efforts, while a colleague is off earning a cool £840 for ambling through a top-flight match in front of a tiny crowd and a minor media presence. However, instead of dishing out a 20-per-cent pay rise to whistlers at second-tier games, taking their weekend earnings to the princely sum of £240, might it have been better to recommend a ‘grading system’ of matches, rewarding officials according to the size of the fixture? Just a thought — and one fraught with obvious pitfalls. The timing of this story could hardly be worse, of course. Handing more money to the hard-pressed gentlemen in black is always going to be as popular as dishing out fresh fruit and pumpkin seeds to guisers at Hallowe’en. Just when their collective reputation is being undermined by repeated howlers involving one of the very best in the land — according to FIFA, those trusted arbiters of the game — the pay deal will be misinterpreted by the angry mob as rewarding failure. Fortunately, thick hides and rubber ears are standard issue for those who choose to put themselves in the middle of the melee.