By Mark McGivern
Daily Record
November 24, 2010
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/2010/11/24/ref-crisis-catholic-church-demands-action-from-sfa-on-hugh-dallas-deeply-offensive-pope-e-mail-86908-22737718/
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Letter: Cardinal Keith O'Brien has sanctioned letter to SFA
THE CATHOLIC Church in Scotland has demanded former whistler Hugh Dallass head if allegations of sectarianism against him are proven.
The extraordinary move, sanctioned by the Churchs head in Scotland Cardinal Keith OBrien, marks a declaration of war against the SFA, who are investigating their Head of Referee Development after the storm erupted earlier this month.
They acted amid a perception among key figures in the Catholic hierarchy that the issue was being swept under the carpet by the SFA, which first received a complaint about Dallas two months ago.
The latest development comes amid the refereeing crisis that currently grips Scottish football - and hot on the heels of Rangers warning their own fans not to engage in sectarian chanting in their Champions League match against Man United.
A strongly worded letter from the Churchs media director Peter Kearney insists that Dallas should have no future in sport if he is found guilty of forwarding by email a graphic joke about the Pope, which alludes to paedophilia.
The Catholic view is that any figure who is involved in dealing with sectarian issues in any form should be above sending bigoted messages. They claim the severity of the image, released at the time of the Popes visit in September, meant it could never be regarded as a joke.
Kearney demanded a response by the SFA by the end of the week but the football organisation tonight warned nothing would be forthcoming until their internal investigation is complete.
In his letter to the SFAs chief executive, Kearney says: I am writing to you to express my concern at an allegation made recently against a senior official of the SFA, Mr Hugh Dallas, the Head of Referee development.
He has been accused of sending an email from his SFA email account on the day of the Popes visit to Scotland, which was totally unprofessional, gratuitously insulting to the Pope, deeply offensive to the Catholic community of Scotland, and an incitement to anti-Catholic sectarianism.
Kearney makes three demands and told the Record the SFA will be given until the end of the week to comply or expect an escalation of hostility.
The demands are:
:: That the results of the SFA investigation are made public.
:: That the SFA treats the matter with urgency.
:: That Dallas is sacked if findings against him are proved.
Kearney said: The reason we haven't got involved in this issue until now is that the SFA was investigating this as an internal issue and two months have now passed.
It is reasonable to ask the SFA what it is doing regarding this. I hope this does not get brushed under the carpet and I rely on the integrity of the SFA to ensure they are open in their handling of this.
Kearney defended the Church entering the arena of sport in a politically charged manner, adding: "This is not a sport issue, its much bigger than sport.
"It's an issue of religious respect, sectarianism and bigotry. If the person sent the email described, it is a personal attack on the leader of the Catholic Church and its a bigoted and sectarian act."
Last night Dallas refused to discuss the issue and referred calls to the SFA.
A spokesman for the SFA said: "This is an internal matter and it is still being investigated."
The spokesman refused to say if the results of their inquiry would be made public or comment on the deadline given by Kearney to respond to his demands.
Tonight the SFA was still locked in talks with referees representatives in a bid to persuade the officials to call off their proposed strike.
Grade one referees on Sunday voted to withdraw their labour, bringing this weekends scheduled fixtures into doubt.
The SFA have set a deadline for midday tomorrow (THURS) for a resolution before they turn elsewhere for replacement referees.
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