Scottish Football Association apologises after assistant referee Covid-19 breach
ByReuters
Published 22/02/2021 at 10:12 GMT
The SFA says a "breakdown in internal process" led to assistant referee Graeme Stewart officiating Saturday's Scottish Premiership game between Hibernian and Hamilton, when he was supposed to be isolating having been identified as a close contact of colleague David Roome, who returned a positive coronavirus test last week.
Graeme Stewart officiated a game at the weekend, even though he was meant to be isolating
Image credit: Getty Images
The Scottish Football Association has apologised after admitting it allowed an assistant referee to officiate Saturday's Scottish Premiership game between Hibernian and Hamilton, even though he was meant to be isolating after a colleague tested positive for coronavirus.
Graeme Stewart, along with David Roome and Bobby Madden, were part of the team that took charge of a Greek Super League game between Panathinaikos and Olympiacos in Athens last weekend.
Roome tested positive for Covid-19 on Wednesday after returning from Greece, and although Stewart and Madden returned two negative tests, they were considered to be close contacts.
Stewart was still involved in the weekend match at Easter Road, which Hibs won 2-0, while Madden was due to take charge of Sunday's game between Ross County and Celtic but was replaced hours before kick-off.
It is the latest incident to affect Scottish football, after five Rangers players broke coronavirus rules - an incident which angered First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.
"While the circumstances are complex the reality is that under Scottish Government guidelines all match officials involved in the trip should be considered close contacts," Scottish FA chief executive Ian Maxwell said in a statement.
"I have tonight apologised to Hibernian and Hamilton Academical for the unnecessary risk of having an assistant referee at a match when he should have been self-isolating, however much it is mitigated by two negative tests in the build-up to the match."
Neither club have commented on the incident.
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