Celtic SFA row, Dougiegate and 'duped' foreign officials - remembering the infamous referee strike 13 years on

Celtic chairman Peter Lawwell and chief executive Michael Nicholson aimed a few remarks at the standard of officiating in Scotland during the club’s AGM which raised some laughs in the room.

But the club’s battle with the authorities which led to an unprecedented strike by referees 13 years ago this weekend was certainly no laughing matter as it almost brought the top flight to a standstill amid a bitter feud. Lawwell quipped that the last time rivals Rangers had conceded a penalty in the league it was for a handball by 1960s and 70s Ibrox legend John Greig, a reference to the fact the Ibrox side have gone 67 games since a spot kick was awarded against them in the Scottish Premiership.

And Nicholson got the biggest cheer of the afternoon for coming away with a sarcastic one-liner. He was asked “what should happen if a referee and VAR misses a key decision?” to which the chief executive replied “penalty Rangers”. All very jocular - but not so back in 2010. Here, Record Sport looks back at what happened on the 13th anniversary of the infamous Scottish football referee strike.

Basically, Scottish referees voted to strike on the weekend of November 27, 2010 in response to increased criticism - Willie Callum had received death threats - and scrutiny, which they believed was threatening their safety. The vote was taken at a meeting of Scotland's 31 Grade One officials. Such a drastic measure hadn’t actually been on the agenda but the strength of feeling among officials at that time meant the withdrawal of labour for one weekend was their favoured option.

A month earlier, the Parkhead side had gone to war with the SFA after a hugely controversial decision. Whistler Dougie McDonald awarded Celtic a penalty in a game against