Former referee Stuart Dougal hopes strike action will be avoided after Scotland’s officials expressed their dismay about the length of ban handed out to Dundee United attacker Nadir Ciftci.
The Turk was issued with a two-match penalty – one suspended until the end of the season – for “placing an open hand into the lower area of the assistant referee’s (Gavin Harris) throat”.
The incident occurred during United’s League Cup defeat to Inverness in October.
The Scottish Senior Football Referees Association insists the decision sends out the wrong message about the protection of match officials.
Scotland’s referees voted for industrial action in 2010 after claiming they did not get enough protection from the Scottish FA when their integrity was called into question.
And although industrial action is not yet on the agenda an SSFRA spokes-man said: “We wish to express our deep dissatisfaction at the leniency of the sanction imposed on a player who was found guilty of physically abusing one of our members.
“We feel this sends out completely the wrong message on issues surrounding the protection of match officials at all levels of the game. Following a weekend of action in 2010, assurances were given by the Scottish FA it would take very seriously the protection of referees.
“Our association strongly believes a thorough review of the governing body’s duty of care responsibilities to match officials should now be undertaken.”
Dougal, who retired in 2009, backed the 2010 strike, but is keen to avoid a repeat and said: “I hope the officials are level-headed.
“I was very much a supporter of the strike in 2010 because it was the last-chance saloon for the SFA.
“Hopefully that can be avoided and they will have a review of the Ciftci case and see if the punishment should be increased. I think most fair-minded people would say that this is not right.
“To have a one-match ban is way out of kilter given previous punishments handed out to other players. You have the example of Paulo Di Canio, who pushed the referee (Paul Alcock) a number of years ago when he was playing for Sheffield Wednesday and received an 11-match ban.
“I was involved with Neil Lennon during his playing career. He didn’t push me, but approached me aggressively after a match and used some choice language. He received a ban for three matches. So I would say the punishment certainly does not fit the crime here.”
The SFA claimed the referees’ group had not asked for the reasons for the panel’s decision and criticised the decision to comment about the outcome.
A spokesman said: “The Scottish FA has yet to receive any formal correspondence despite being made aware of a statement issued with the authority of its chairman, James Bee.
“It would have been befitting of a members’ organisation to seek an explanation for the outcome directly, without the need for such inflammatory comments.”