A former referee reckons anybody found guilty of abusing Kevin Clancy should be hammered with being permanently barred from football stadiums.
There have been threats made against the experienced official and his family after the weekend’s clash between Celtic and Rangers at Parkhead, in which he ruled out Light Blues striker Alfredo Morelos’ goal at 0-0 for a foul on Alistair Johnston before Celtic went on to win 3-2. Police Scotland have since confirmed they are conducting an investigation to pinpoint those responsible for sending the horrific abuse to Clancy, who has also had his personal details leaked online.
Ex-grade one referee and former spokesperson for the Scottish Senior Referees' Association John McKendrick believes that there should be severe punishments handed out, while he anticipates players offering their support in hidden ways. He told the Daily Mail: "It's horrible, absolutely horrible. As referees, we completely understand that we are going to be criticised for decisions. Sometimes you accept the reaction has been a little bit more vociferous than it should have been. We tolerate that as part of the game.
"But this is different. This is something eating into your professional and family world, which is completely separate from refereeing, that's a line that should never be crossed and it's a horrible thing to have to bear.
"With any individual found guilty, I'd expect football to give out lifetime bans. That would be the right response to these isolated but totally unacceptable incidents.
'These things have happened in the past and they are happening today. They really shouldn't be happening in the future.
"What will happen is that referees will band together on this. Kevin will be getting an incredible amount of support from his colleagues. Maybe what some people don't understand is that Kevin will also be getting a lot of support from professionals involved within the game.
"You'll have managers who'll be incredibly sympathetic. When Kevin turns up for his next match he'll be hearing things from players that you won't pick up in the media.
"They'll be saying it's ridiculous what's happened. The one thing I find heartening in this is that the whole football community completely agrees this is totally and utterly unacceptable."
