Jim McCluskey, Stewarton

Highly acclaimed Celtic author Tom Campbell of The Glory and the Dream fame, has a new book coming out soon which delves for its subject matter into the murky depths of Celtic's alleged paranoia with regard to referees, football authority and the media. Lined up are chapters on Stein v RH Davidson (Airdrie), McCann v Farry, Hugh Dallas, Celtic and Scotland and much more besides, including a look at "The Celtic Media" (what that? ed). I can see you're salivating at the prospect already. In the meantime, check out this interview Tom had with Jim McCluskey, reproduced by kind permission of The Celt fanzine.

While I was doing the research for the new book, I noticed that Jim McCluskey was due for retirement as an active referee in the year 2000. Aware that he had been involved in some controversial moments with Celtic during his career, I wrote to him at the SFA to suggest a meeting. The letter was forwarded to him, he accepted the invitation and suggested his office as a suitable venue. I set out the guidelines: I was writing a book about Celtic's "paranoia" and referees featured prominently in the work. I felt that he, as a referee recently retired, could offer some insights into refereeing styles. I mentioned that I much preferred his laissez faire approach to the more authoritarian methods of some of his colleagues.

First impressions were favourable. I arrived at the company of which Mr. McCluskey is a partner and was shown promptly into a board room office. I was offered tea and biscuits and we would be free from interruptions for the two hours set aside for the meeting.

Jim McCluskey looks taller and leaner than he does in his referee's gear on the pitch. He seemed fit and alert, certainly conscious of any nuances in a question. He gives the distinct impression of a no-nonsense, business-like man, but without being brusque or overly assertive in his opinions. His answers were shrewd and not academic, frank but not outrageous in his opinions.

We spoke first about refereeing styles. As a former player (a brief spell as Airdrie's first ever S-form signing) he prefers the game to flow without too much interruption from the referee. He would rather speak quietly to a player to warn him about his conduct or to explain his decisions. He realised that his style was becoming more and more out of step with FIFA directives and SFA policy; however, he stressed that he could not - and would not - criticise other referees whose philosophy was different from his own. I was most impressed with the frankness of his answers to my questions concerning controversial decisions involving Celtic and these incidents are now summarised in chronological order.

The Coyne - Huistra incident at Celtic Park

With the score at 0:0 in the Old Firm match Tommy Coyne broke through but was tripped from behind by Huistra on the edge of the penalty area. Mr. McCluskey awarded a free kick and booked Huistra.

"I got pelters for that one; the Celtic fans wanted Huistra sent off and every newspaper agreed with them. The legislation about the 'last man' had only recently come into effect and everybody felt Huistra should have walked. In fact, the referee supervisor in the stand felt much the same way and I was deducted technical points for my 'mistake'. I didn't think it was such a wrong decision. Tommy Coyne - not the fastest player in the world - was drifting to the side of the penalty area and the goalkeeper still had a good angle to block his shot. It was not quite as clear cut as everybody seemed to think. Later on, I was still unhappy about the technical points I was assessed and the SFA sent a tape of the incident to FIFA for their opinion. It took a while for the answer to come back but FIFA agreed with my decision."

The Jorge Cadete "Goal"

With Rangers leading by 2:1 at Ibrox but Celtic pressing furiously for an equalising goal in the closing stages, Cadete controlled a pass, swivelled sharply and netted. The linesman's flag shot up and the "goal" was disallowed.

"I remember thinking as we were leaving the pitch that Celtic had outplayed Rangers for most of the second half and that they fully deserved a draw. Considering the intensity of the game I had been pleased with our own performance (as officials) because there had been no major incidents and the players had behaved very well. There was a knock on the door a few minutes after the final whistle and it was Davie Provan, working for a TV company. He wanted to know if the goal had been disallowed for offside or for handball against Cadete. I told him I couldn't answer that sort of question, but he came back a few minutes later with much the same query. I realised then that the TV footage was indicating something that we had missed or got wrong. I did help him a little by telling him, 'Look Mr.Provan, you've played the game yourself and you know the rules. I suggest you have another look at the replay and watch what I do with my hand'. I had raised my hand when I blew for the infringement to indicate an indirect free kick - in other words for offside rather than hand ball. Seeing the footage later it became clear that we had got it wrong."

The Stephane Mahe "penalty" at Ibrox

Mahe had broken through from his full-back position and was on the verge of shooting for goal from about eight yards out when he was tackled from behind by Kanchelskis and tumbled down.

"No excuse. I got it completely wrong as I could see when I watched it later on TV. Simply, from my vantage point it looked like a perfectly legitimate tackle, although an awkward one. I gave a corner kick and the Celtic players were not too happy, but they seemed to accept the fact that I had called it as I saw it. Most players - the vast majority of them - accept the fact that you are going to get some decisions wrong. And this one was wrong. Stephane Mahe? I've never had a moment's trouble with him. He's a wholehearted player and sometimes he does dive in too quickly but when he does he comes out with the ball more often than not. I'm impressed with his ball control going forward."

Johan Mjallby's penalty kick at Celtic Park

With the score at 0:0 in a vital Old Firm league match and with about eight minutes left, Neil McCann broke through and Mjallby hauled him back by his jersey. Mjallby was booked for the offence and Gould saved the spot kick from Albertz.

"I got a lot of criticism for that one. Most people assumed that Mjallby should have been sent off but I'm still convinced I was right. It was a penalty kick, McCann was in the clear and Mjallby pulled him from behind... but at that moment McCann did not have the ball under control as it had bounced quite high and Gould was rushing out from his goal. There was no guarantee that McCann would have scored at the moment he was fouled."

Jackie McNamara's "ordering-off" in the League Cup semi-final

McNamara and Cocard (Kilmarnock) were involved in a tussle for the ball and both were booked. Cocard had been booked a few minutes earlier and was sent off, as was McNamara. But the referee changed his mind about McNamara.

"It was a bit embarrassing. I was irritated at Cocard for his second indiscretion, especially coming so soon after his first yellow card. Remember, referees don't like to send players off, but he had to go. McNamara was astounded when I gave him the red card too and I realised I had made a mistake. Frankly, I still had the red card for Cocard in my hand and I held that up for McNamara as well. I played for time to calm things down and told McNamara to, 'Stay there for a minute until we straighten this out.' I went over to the touchline to speak to the fourth official and my assistant. Everybody agreed that McNamara had not been booked before and that his part in the flare-up with Cocard did not merit a red card. I went back on to the pitch, explained that to McNamara - and the other players in the vicinity - and they accepted the situation and got on with the game in a normal manner after it."

During all these explanations I found it refreshing that Jim McCluskey was prepared to admit his mistakes and I found it illuminating to learn about the decision-making process by referees in fraught, split-second situations. It made me more convinced than ever that referees should be allowed to explain controversial decisions, but under a controlled and civilised format. Everybody connected with football recognises that referees are only human and capable of making mistakes; it wouldn't weaken a referee's standing if he were to admit to the occasional error.

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