Referee could lose day job after officiating Real Madrid match
Douglas Ross, who was assistant ref during Madrid's 2-1 win over Sporting on Tuesday, chose to miss a vital parliamentary meeting in his role as a Scottish MP in order to attend the match, leading for calls for him to be sacked.
One of the assistant referees who officiated Real Madrid’s 2-1 win at Sporting Lisbon on Tuesday could lose his day job as a result of working the Champions League game.
Douglas Ross, a Member of Scottish Parliament with the Conservative Party, has received calls to be sacked after missing a vital parliamentary committee meeting in order to attend the match, according to the Daily Record.
Ross, who is a justice spokesman for the Tories and has a dual role as Moray councillor, also missed a meeting of the local authority’s policy and resource committee to be the assistant referee at the Champions League tie.
Not the first time
It’s allegedly not the first time Ross has snubbed his parliamentary work for his job as a referee, which reportedly pays around £40,000 per year.
In September, he was absent for committee meetings, a key parliamentary vote and important local meetings while he attended a five-day refereeing course in Switzerland.
SNP MSP Ben Macpherson is one of the parliament members calling for Tory leader Ruth Davidson to sack Ross as justice spokesman.
"Arrogance and blatant disrespect"
He said: “The arrogance and blatant disrespect of ‘three jobs’ Tory Douglas Ross is simply staggering.
“Last time the whistle was blown on one of his refereeing junkets the Tories claimed it was just a ‘one off’. But he’s at it again – and this time it should be a straight red card.
“Obviously he values his £40k-a-year weekend job – and all-expenses paid trips to Lisbon and other European cities – more than his responsibilities as an MSP and local councillor, demonstrating complete contempt for the people who elected him.
“If Douglas Ross can’t pitch up to do his job, it’s time for relegation – he should either take a step back from refereeing or stand down from Holyrood’s justice committee with immediate effect, and Ruth Davidson should give him the boot from her front-bench team.”