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Daily Record
Daily Record
Sport
Mya Bollan

Willie Collum branded unfit after Rangers vs Hearts Scottish Cup final as whistler urged to 'bow out'

Willie Collum is being urged to quit by two former referees who criticised his Hampden performance.

The referee took charge of the Scottish Cup Final for the fourth time on Saturday as Rangers defeated Hearts to lift the trophy for the first time in 13 years.

The Light Blues scored two goals in extra time after the 90 minutes of regulation time ended goalless.

But despite Rangers showing their fitness and determination following heartbreak in Seville just four days earlier, Collum's performance is being called into question.

Steve Conroy and Des Roache have sparked defeat over the ref's fitness and ability to take charge of top level games.

Speaking on the Get Involved Referee podcast, the two ex-referees have called on Collum to hang up his whistle.

The criticism comes after Collum was also slammed for his performance during Arbroath's play-off defeat against Inverness when he sent off two Caley Thistle players.

Conroy said: “Inconsistent decisions later on in game were reflective of his fitness and his reading of the game. It was two games too far for Willie at the end of the season.”

Roache added: “For me, as much as the final was relatively incident free I thought Willie Collum got the small infringements wrong. That irritated the players.

“He looked heavy legged as the game progressed and did not look not look as fit or sharp as required.

“It was experience that got him through the game. The Arbroath game and the Cup Final were too much – he should bow out at the top.”

Gio van Bronckhorst and Willie Collum (Getty Images)

The Hampden clash saw a few contentious efforts play out - including a Peter Haring challenge on Calvin Bassey that pundit Ally McCoist claimed should have seen the Jambo see red.

A strong penalty claim in the final moments of normal time has also been a topic of debate after Nat Atkinson had a handful of Joe Aribo's shirt as he took a shot at Craig Gordon in the Hearts goal.

Collum has been one of Scotland's top referees for more than a decade, with 500 domestic clashes under his belt as well as 36 Champions League games and 28 Europa League matches.

The ref took charge of two games during the 2016 Euros in France after handling the UEFA Super Cup Final the previous year when Barcelona defeated Sevilla 5-4 after extra time.

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