ALAN Freeland has made a few mistakes in his time, as he is the first to admit. As he contemplates his imminent retirement, however, he is more convinced than ever that becoming a referee was not one of them.
Having turned 47 earlier this year, the Aberdonian accountant officially steps down from the Scottish Football Association's roster of match officials at the end of next month.
In practice, however, he has just two more appointments to keep – t
his afternoon, when he takes charge of the league game between Kilmarnock and Falkirk, and next Saturday, when he is the fourth official at the Scottish Cup final between Queen of the South and Rangers.
Contrary to the belief held by some fans that referees only take up the whistle because they are authoritarian types who like ordering others about, Freeland is adamant that he and his colleagues are motivated primarily by a love of football.
That affection for the game, and the knowledge of the need for fair play if it is to retain any credibility, are two of the principal reasons he is convinced that referees are innocent of the most serious charges laid at their doors.
In recent seasons, the single most serious accusation is that which has called the integrity of match officials into question. Whether they are directly accused of favouring a particular team or simply said to have been influenced more passively, it amounts to the same thing: they are not adjudicating fairly.
Freeland has himself been the subject of similar criticisms in the past, though it is his colleague Mike McCurry who has most recently been targeted. In last week's league match between Rangers and Dundee United, McCurry turned down a strong United penalty claim and disallowed a goal for the same side which should have stood.
Craig Levein, the United manager, asked if there was any point in his team turning up to play at Ibrox if such allegedly biased decisions were made, and pundits and spectators up and down the land happily weighed in with accusations of pro-Rangers bias.
In this case and in all the others he has witnessed, however, Freeland remains certain that any wrong decisions were the result of human error, and that such error, while regrettable, can never be eliminated.
When we meet, the question is put to him in unambiguous terms: Has he ever had any doubts about the integrity of match officials? His answer, similarly, leaves no room for misunderstanding.
"Certainly not. Never. Never in my career have I seen anything that made me feel 'He's done that deliberately'."
While some spectators may think that the standard of refereeing in Scottish football is lower than it was, Freeland believes the opposite. Standards are higher in many ways, and it is simply the greater publicity given to the sport that can make it seem like bigger errors are being made.
"There's no doubt the game is faster than when I started, but I would say I'm fitter now, in real terms, than I was at 20. We look after our bodies so much better. We're more aware of what and when to eat and drink. And we do a lot more recovery work after games as well.
"There's certainly more pressure (on us], but that's from having more TV cameras there and every angle being covered.
"What we do feel as a group is that there are too many parties criticising us, it appears, just for the sake of it. The damage is done once they've spoken about it. Very often when we review things, referees are proved correct. And we don't really see any retractions in the papers or on radio or TV.
"We've got no problem with criticism when it's correct. We can learn and improve. But it's got to be justified. People think we don't care. But it matters to us immensely.
"Having your name and face all over the back pages – with the big headline of BLUNDER REF or whatever – nobody likes to see that. When managers criticise you publicly, and it becomes very personal, a lot of it is unjustified.
"Yes, every referee makes mistakes, but that doesn't give managers the right to come out and say some of the things they've said.
"Referees do go back and review games, and we now have The Whistleblower on the SFA website, so we can admit to our mistakes or try to explain why we got something wrong.
"I don't know of any referee who goes into a game hoping they make a mistake. That (suggestion] can be quite hurtful."
Indeed, while he refrains from singling out individuals for criticism, Freeland believes that managers and players in general should take a stronger interest in the laws of the game, and that when they criticise officials they often do so from a position of relative ignorance.
"Over the years the SFA will pull together referees to have a pre-season meeting," Freeland notes.
"They have invited managers to attend those meetings, and the lack of managers appearing at them is disturbing. I don't know whether they don't want to understand. We're very happy to meet up with them.
"How many players and managers know the laws of the game? In any line of business, you've got to know what the rules are."
For Freeland the best indicator of the state of Scottish refereeing is how it is regarded throughout Uefa. He accepts that there may be times when we have no outstanding match officials, just as there may be fallow spells when the country fails to produce any world-class players. But he is adamant that the SFA is doing everything in its power to raise the standards.
"I believe that Scottish referees are well respected within European football. We have a number of young referees coming through, which augurs well for the future.
"There will be a period when there's a wee lull. Whether that's the case now I wouldn't say. It's a young man's game. There are younger referees coming into the game, so if all of us oldies are clogging up the top they'd never get the opportunity to come through."
The retirement age has come down in recent seasons, having been set at 50 not so long ago, so Freeland is calling it a day sooner than he would have expected to do a few years back. And, for all the hassle involved in officiating nowadays, he will be sad to go.
"I couldn't ask for a better way to bow out than in the Scottish Cup final. That really will be a dream come true. The difference for me will come in July or August when everybody else is getting ready to get going again.
"It's not so bad now when everyone is looking forward to a break, but come the start of the season I'm going to say 'Why am I not getting appointments for friendlies?'"
Besides the forthcoming showpiece occasion at Hampden, the highlights in Freeland's refereeing career have included being on the FIFA list for five years, taking charge of his first SPL game, and also refereeing abroad for the first time.
Looking beyond his own achievements, however, he is happy to reminisce about some of the great players he has seen.
"I had a great admiration for Willie Miller, who was a great leader on the park. I admire skilful players, and remember that when Mark McGhee played for Aberdeen the ball seemed to stick to his feet.
"Then there was Brian Laudrup. He was a fantastic player for Rangers and I was fortunate enough to be on the same park as him. Henrik Larsson at Celtic was excellent too, and I also admired Chris Sutton – I sent him off in his first game at Celtic Park, but he had a great work-rate."
When it comes to assessing managers, Freeland is careful to refrain from singling anyone out for adverse comment. Instead, he prefers to mention two who exemplify how it should be done.
"I found George Burley, when he was at Hearts, (was a good example]. He controlled himself, which is something that European managers are generally better at doing – Scottish managers can be quite exuberant.
"George would ask you a question, then if you gave him a reasonable response he would accept it and move on. That's the way it should be.
"I also found Alex McLeish as a manager to be a level above a lot of others. I always found him very good to work with."
As the fourth official next week at Hampden, Freeland should have a relatively low-key conclusion to his officiating career.
His last game as the man in the middle today, though, is likely to be a bit different: even if he does nothing to wind up the Kilmarnock or Falkirk fans, some friends of his are travelling south to ensure he does not get to stride off into the sunset without a few last gobfuls of grief.
"There's a number of guys coming down from Aberdeen to 'support' me," he says, a hint of comic trepidation coming into his voice.
"I think they'll give me more hassle than anybody else."
The full article contains 1546 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
