Ex-Fifa official: Celtic and Rangers dealt ‘major’ blow as Bobby Madden news confirmed
Celtic and Rangers have been dealt a “major” blow by Bobby Madden’s decision to quit the Scottish Premiership for the EFL, according to Keith Hackett.
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, the ex-Fifa and Premier League referee claimed the Scottish FA now have to consider the benefits of having full-time officials.
The PGMOL confirmed earlier this month (17 June) that Madden, 43, had transferred from Scotland to England ahead of the 2022-23 season.
He had already quit his international role earlier this month and will now initially take charge of English League One and League Two.
“Ultimately, I think it’s a great gain for the PGMOL,” Hackett told Football Insider correspondent Connor Whitley.
“Madden has performed really well. He’s got strength of character, his movement around the field is first class, he’s a very good decision maker and I’ve praised him on a number of occasions.
“He’s a real coup. Therefore, don’t waste his talent. He’s ageing in terms of a referee, not to be disrespectful, so I would have brought him into select group two.
“This guy is a Premier League referee and it shouldn’t take a couple of months to put him up to select group one.
“Yes, there is a complication because he would be a full-time referee and Bobby Madden may not wish to be full-time and that’s a conversation to be had.
“I think it’s a major loss to Scottish referees. It’s like everything else, can you afford to have a group of professional referees? What do you gain?
“Employment law is difficult. You’ve got to have pension rights, exit clauses and all those sorts of things.
“There is a halfway house here. Talk to referees like Madden and say ‘We would like your frontline job to be a referee and for this we’ll pay you £60,000, £70,000 and we’ll allow you to use 20 per cent of your time on a secondary role’.”
In other news, Kieran Maguire has revealed Rangers and Celtic must negotiate together as details of a £2million-a-year deal emerge.