Hugh Dallas
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Hugh Dallas MBE (born 26 October 1957) is a Scottish former
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
referee A referee is an official, in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The official tasked with this job may be known by a variety of other title ...
. He officiated at two
FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...
tournaments, in
1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...
and
2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...
; he was appointed fourth official for the
2002 FIFA World Cup Final The 2002 FIFA World Cup final was the final match of the 2002 FIFA World Cup, 2002 World Cup, the 17th edition of FIFA's competition for national association football, football teams. The match was played at the International Stadium Yokohama, I ...
. Dallas also officiated at the
1996 Olympic Games The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...
, the 1999 UEFA Cup Final and several
UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...
matches. From June 2009 until November 2010, Dallas was the SFA's Referee Development Officer. He is a UEFA Referee Officer. He is also currently the Referee Development Consultant for TFF's Arbitration Committee, a position he has been occupying since June 2022.


Refereeing career

Dallas was born in Allanton, near
Shotts Shotts is a small town in North Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is located almost halfway between Glasgow () and Edinburgh (). The town has a population of about 8,840. A local story has Shotts being named after the legendary giant highwayman Bertra ...
. He refereed his first amateur match in 1982 between Motherwell Bridgeworks and Victoria AFC. His first foreign engagement came in 1988 when he was a linesman at a
Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The competition's official name was originally the European Cup Winners' Cup; it was renamed the UEFA Cup Winne ...
tie between
Sampdoria Unione Calcio Sampdoria, commonly referred to as Sampdoria (), is an Italian professional football club based in Genoa, Liguria. Sampdoria was formed in 1946 from the merger of two existing sports clubs whose roots can be traced back to the ...
and Carl Zeiss Jena. While running the line at the 1993
Toulon Tournament The Maurice Revello Tournament (officially French: the ''Festival International "Espoirs" – Tournoi Maurice Revello''), previously known as the Toulon Tournament, is a Association football, football tournament, which traditionally features invit ...
, Dallas stopped a match between
Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...
and
Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...
after spotting a serious injury to Czech player
Martin Svedik Martin may refer to: Places Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Europe * Martin, Croatia, a village * Martin, Slovakia, a city * Martín del Río, Aragón, Spain * Mart ...
. Dallas was credited with saving the player's life and thanked by
Ivan Kopecky Ivan () is a Slavic male given name, connected with the variant of the Greek name (English: John) from Hebrew meaning 'God is gracious'. It is associated worldwide with Slavic countries. The earliest person known to bear the name was the Bul ...
, the coach of the Czech team, for his intervention. Early in his career, Dallas took the advice of
Brian McGinlay Brian McGinlay (born 24 August 1945) is a retired football referee from Scotland, who officiated in 98 European club competition and international matches. Refereeing career At the domestic level McGinlay has refereed 21 Old Firm derbies, during ...
and began to referee international matches in a different way to those in
Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
. Dallas contends that foreign players
dive Diving most often refers to: * Diving (sport), the sport of jumping into deep water * Underwater diving, human activity underwater for recreational or occupational purposes Diving or Dive may also refer to: Sports * Dive (American football), a ...
more than their Scottish counterparts and that the diving of foreign players who enter
Scottish football Association football is one of the national sports of Scotland and the most popular sport in the country. There is a long tradition of "football" games in Orkney, Lewis and southern Scotland, especially the Scottish Borders, although many of ...
is reduced by Scottish match officials. Dallas was one of 12 referees selected to officiate at the
1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...
in the USA. During the tournament Dallas was the referee at three group matches. In June 1997, Dallas refereed an important
1998 FIFA World Cup qualification The 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification competition was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA FIFA#Structure, confederations. Each confederation — the Asian Football Confederation, AFC (Asia), Confederation of African Football, CAF (Afr ...
match between
Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
and the
Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...
. Early in the second half,
Alfonso Pérez Alfonso Pérez Muñoz (born 26 September 1972), known simply as Alfonso, is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a striker. Having represented both Real Madrid and Barcelona during his career, Alfonso possessed above-averag ...
fell over in the Czech penalty area close to, but untouched by,
Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...
goalkeeper
Pavel Srníček Pavel Srníček (10 March 1968 – 29 December 2015) was a Czech association football, football coach and former professional player who played as a goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper. In a career that lasted from 1990 to 2007, he not ...
, but Dallas awarded a
penalty kick A penalty shot or penalty kick is a play used in several sports whereby a goal is attempted during untimed play. Depending on the sport, when a player commits certain types of penalties, the opposition is awarded a penalty shot or kick attempt. ...
to Spain. In 2003, Dallas rated the mistake as the worst of his career. Dallas admitted to embarrassment and guilt after the match, as the penalty kick proved decisive in giving a 1–0 win to Spain. Their defeat cost the
Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...
any chance of qualifying for the
1998 FIFA World Cup The 1998 FIFA World Cup was the 16th FIFA World Cup, the Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams. The finals tournament was held in France from 10 June to 1 ...
.
UEFA The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; ; ) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs football, futsal and beach soccer, beach football in Europe and the List of transcontinental countries#A ...
offered Dallas police protection after he awarded
Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
a late penalty in their 2–1 win over
Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
at
Euro 2000 The 2000 UEFA European Football Championship, also known as Euro 2000, was the 11th UEFA European Championship, a football tournament held every four years and organised by UEFA, the sport's governing body in Europe. The finals tournament was ...
. Dallas' former colleague
Brian McGinlay Brian McGinlay (born 24 August 1945) is a retired football referee from Scotland, who officiated in 98 European club competition and international matches. Refereeing career At the domestic level McGinlay has refereed 21 Old Firm derbies, during ...
said that the penalty decision was wrong, but nevertheless claimed Dallas was "the best referee in Britain." Dallas was the
fourth official In association football, an assistant referee (also known as a linesman) is an official who assists the referee in administering the Laws of the Game during a match. Although assistants are not required under the Laws, at most organised levels ...
in the semi–final match between
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
and
Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...
. Dallas was not disappointed to miss the final as he "never imagined that the final was a possibility.'"Dallas Passed Over For Final Ties"
Scottish Daily Record. 27 June 2000.
During the routine review of matches, Dallas' performance in the early matches was given the equivalent of a gold star by UEFA committee member Ken Ridden. The committee were also impressed by his man management skills. Dallas presided over
AC Milan (), commonly referred to as Milan or AC Milan () mainly outside of Italy, is an Italian professional Football club (association football), football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Founded in 1899, the club competes in the Serie A, the top tie ...
's exit from the 2000–01
UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...
, in a 1–1 draw at the
San Siro San Siro is a football stadium in the San Siro district of Milan, Italy. It has a seating capacity of 75,817, making it the largest stadium in Italy and one of the largest stadiums in Europe. It is the home stadium of the city's principal ...
. The crowd pelted Dallas with missiles including coins, fruit, bottles and cigarette lighters as he left the field under police protection.


Celtic v Rangers 1999

In May 1999, Dallas presided over an important
Old Firm The Old Firm is a collective name for the Scottish football clubs Celtic and Rangers, which are both based in Glasgow. The two clubs are the most successful and popular in Scotland, and the rivalry between them has become deeply embedded i ...
fixture.
Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...
needed to beat
Rangers A ranger is typically someone in a law enforcement or military/paramilitary role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called "ranging" or "scouting". The term most often refers to: * Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with prot ...
in this match to prevent them winning the
Scottish Premier League The Scottish Premier League (SPL) was the Scottish football league system, top-level league competition for professional Association football, football clubs in Scotland. The league was founded in 1998, when it broke away from the Scottish Foo ...
championship at
Celtic Park Celtic Park is a Soccer-specific stadium, football stadium and the home of Scottish Premiership team Celtic F.C., Celtic, in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, Scotland. With a capacity of 60,832, it is the largest List of football stadiums in Sco ...
. The match was given a Sunday evening kick-off for reasons of live
Sky Sports Sky Sports is a group of British broadcasting of sports events, subscription sports channels operated by the satellite television, satellite pay television company Sky Group (a division of Comcast), and is the dominant subscription television ...
television coverage. The match had a frenzied start, with Dallas penalising two fouls within the first minute. Play was later stopped for several minutes while Dallas received treatment after being hit on the head by a coin thrown by a
Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...
supporter. Over the course of the match at least four Celtic fans invaded the field of play to confront Dallas, while another Celtic fan fell from an upper section of terracing and was taken to hospital. Rangers won the match 3–0 and therefore the league championship. Later that evening, a brick was thrown through a window in Dallas' home. A behavioural psychologist was hired by Celtic to investigate Dallas, with the report largely supported Dallas' performance and instead blamed the behaviour of players. Since the events of that day, Old Firm league matches have normally been played in the early afternoon and the possibility of an Old Firm title decider has been deliberately avoided.


1998 FIFA World Cup

The first match at the
1998 FIFA World Cup The 1998 FIFA World Cup was the 16th FIFA World Cup, the Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams. The finals tournament was held in France from 10 June to 1 ...
for Dallas was a 2–2 draw between
Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
and
Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
. He sent off
Pavel Pardo Pavel ( Bulgarian, Russian, Serbian: Павел; Czech, Slovene, and (although Romanian also uses Paul); ; ; ) is a male given name. It is a Slavic cognate of the name Paul (derived from the Greek Pavlos). Pavel may refer to: People Given ...
and
Gert Verheyen Gert Verheyen (;} also spelled Verheijen; born 20 September 1970) is a Belgian retired footballer and manager, who was last in charge of Oostende. In a 20-year professional career, he was mainly associated with Anderlecht and Club Brugge (esp ...
during the match. Dallas was also the referee for the quarter-final match between Italy and France. More than a decade later, Dallas admitted to surprise and disappointment at being overlooked for the later stages of the competition.


2002 FIFA World Cup

During the
2002 FIFA World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea/Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams organized by ...
tournament,
Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...
objected to Dallas' selection for their group-stage game with
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
, referring to their experience with Dallas during
UEFA Euro 2000 The 2000 UEFA European Football Championship, also known as Euro 2000, was the 11th UEFA European Championship, a football tournament held every four years and organised by UEFA, the sport's governing body in Europe. The finals tournament was ...
. Portugal went on to win the match 4–0. Dallas refereed the quarter–final between the
USA The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...
and
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
. Early in the second half, he declined to award a
penalty kick A penalty shot or penalty kick is a play used in several sports whereby a goal is attempted during untimed play. Depending on the sport, when a player commits certain types of penalties, the opposition is awarded a penalty shot or kick attempt. ...
to the USA after a shot by
Gregg Berhalter Gregg Matthew Berhalter (, ; born August 1, 1973) is an American soccer coach and former player. He is the current head coach and director of football for Major League Soccer club Chicago Fire, a role he assumed following the end of the 2024 s ...
was blocked on the goalline by the outstretched arm of defender
Torsten Frings Torsten Klaus Frings (born 22 November 1976) is a German former Association football, footballer and Manager (association football), manager, who last managed SV Meppen. A former midfielder, throughout his career he played for several German clu ...
. Dallas defended his decision on the grounds that Frings did not intend to handle the ball, commenting "If it's not intentional it's not a foul, no matter where it is." In the same match Dallas cautioned
Oliver Neuville Oliver Patric Neuville (; born 1 May 1973) is a German former association football, footballer who played as a striker (association football), striker. During an 18-year professional career which began in Switzerland, he played mainly for German ...
for a foul committed by his teammate
Jens Jeremies Jens Jeremies (born 5 March 1974) is a German former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. Best known for his tackling abilities, he played for three clubs during his professional career, most notably Bayern Munich where ...
, having mistaken their identities. Dallas had the backing of his refereeing inspector over the incident, although
FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...
remarked upon their "concern tone or two major mistakes" during the tournament. Dallas was selected as
fourth official In association football, an assistant referee (also known as a linesman) is an official who assists the referee in administering the Laws of the Game during a match. Although assistants are not required under the Laws, at most organised levels ...
for the
Final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...
between
Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
and Germany. According to Dallas, the Brazilian players insisted he join them following their celebratory team huddle dance around the
World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...
trophy.


As a referee instructor

Dallas retired as a match referee at the end of the 2004–05 Scottish football season, a year earlier than the mandatory retirement age. He then acted as a referee observer for the
Scottish Premier League The Scottish Premier League (SPL) was the Scottish football league system, top-level league competition for professional Association football, football clubs in Scotland. The league was founded in 1998, when it broke away from the Scottish Foo ...
and was appointed to the
UEFA The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; ; ) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs football, futsal and beach soccer, beach football in Europe and the List of transcontinental countries#A ...
Referees' Committee. Dallas was also appointed to a new Referee Certification Panel, one of two panels introduced in connection with UEFA's Referee Convention, while he continued his role as a UEFA referee observer. Dallas was appointed Head of Referee Development by the
Scottish Football Association The Scottish Football Association (; also known as the Scottish FA and the SFA) is the governing body of football in Scotland and has the ultimate responsibility for the control and development of football in Scotland. Members of the SFA incl ...
in 2009. He was soon involved in a public dispute with
Motherwell Motherwell (, ) is a List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Shires of Scotland, Historically in the p ...
manager
Jim Gannon James Paul Gannon (born 7 September 1968) is a professional football manager and former player who most recently was manager of Hyde United. He started and finished his career as a player in Ireland but made most of his professional appearanc ...
over refereeing decisions. In February 2010, Dallas expressed disappointment at refereeing standards in the SPL, after several high-profile refereeing errors were made in a short period of time. In November 2010, assistant referee Steven Craven accused Dallas of exerting pressure on him to support referee
Dougie McDonald Douglas McDonald (born 8 October 1965) is a former FIFA International soccer referee and Scottish Category 1 referee. McDonald is a transport planner by profession, and currently is Director of Transport for Stantec in Scotland. He is still a ...
, who had lied about a disallowed penalty incident in a match at
Tannadice Park Tannadice Park, officially known as The CalForth Construction Arena for sponsorship reasons, is a football stadium in Dundee, Scotland. It is the home ground of Dundee United F.C., who have played at Tannadice since the club was founded as Du ...
. Dallas himself had initially publicly repeated McDonald's false version of events but denied allegations of "bullying and harassment". Dallas was supported personally by the SFA, though the body promised an overhaul of referee discipline. Later in November 2010, Dallas faced an inquiry after it emerged that he had allegedly sent what has been described as a sectarian and offensive email referring to the Pope from his SFA email account. After journalist
Phil Mac Giolla Bhain Philip Joseph Gerard Mac Giolla Bhain is a Glasgow-born Irish blogger, author, playwright and freelance journalist. Career From 1999 to 2006 he was a staff journalist with ''An Phoblacht'' a newspaper published by Sinn Féin, writing under th ...
had broken the story, the SFA issued a statement on 10 November stating that an investigation would be carried out. On 24 November, the
Roman Catholic Church in Scotland The Catholic Church in Scotland, overseen by the Scottish Bishops' Conference, is part of the worldwide Catholic Church headed by the Pope. Christianity first arrived in Roman Britain and was strengthened by the conversion of the Picts th ...
wrote to the SFA demanding that they remove Dallas from his position if the allegation was proved. Dallas was sacked by the SFA on 26 November, after chief executive
Stewart Regan Stewart Regan (born 10 February 1964 in County Durham) is an English sports administrator who is the former CEO of Yorkshire County Cricket Club and the Scottish Football Association. He was also Director of the English Football League Championsh ...
had concluded the investigation into the allegations. Four other SFA employees were also sacked; three of whom were later reinstated. Dallas planned to sue the SFA for unfair dismissal, but the case was settled before it reached court. After Dallas was sacked there was concern from referees in Scotland that standards of officiating could drop. Fifa listed Scottish referee Craig Thomson said, "I see him as a world-class individual within Scottish football, There is a lot of work behind the scenes that I'm hoping won't be lost." Referee John McKendrick said, "It's certainly a major blow for Scottish refereeing, At the peak of his game, there are very few figures in Scottish football who have been at the level Hugh Dallas was at." In August 2014, he was appointed Chief Refereeing Officer in
Super League Greece The Super League Greece 1 (), or Stoiximan Super League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Greece and the highest level of the Greek football league system. The league was formed on 16 July 2006 and repla ...
. In November 2014, he criticised the arbitration of
Ilias Spathas Ilias Spathas (; born 18 February 1980) is a former international referee who refereed at 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, beginning with the Group H match between Poland and Moldova. Spathas became a FIFA referee in 2010.FIFA"Greece: Referees" ...
(one of the many refs involved in the
2015 Greek football scandal The 2015 Greek football scandal was a sports scandal in Greece’s top professional association football league that involved numerous executives from different clubs and from Greek Football Association and referees. The scandal emerged in 2014 ...
), after a match of Olympiakos, as the "worst he has ever seen" saying that the mistakes were not normal. A few days later he quit from being responsible for the appointments of refereeing officials for Super League and Football League matches. In June 2022, Dallas was appointed as the Referee Training Consultant for TFF's Arbitration Committee. He gave an interview to Turkish news agency
Anadolu Agency Anadolu Agency (, ; abbreviated AA) is a state-run news agency headquartered in Ankara, Turkey. History The Anadolu Agency was founded in 1920 during the Turkish War of Independence by the order of Mustafa Kemal Pasha. As the Empire's capital ...
on 19 August 2022, in which he stated that the quality of refereeing in the
Turkish Super League Turkish may refer to: * Something related to Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities in the former Ottoman Empire * The ...
was high and stated that he aimed to contribute to this by minimising referee errors. In the interview, he also added that after every match, he talks to the referees and makes video calls and creates online meetings for their development. On 1 March 2024, a video call that Dallas had made with the referees of the Turkish Super League
Galatasaray Galatasaray Spor Kulübü (, ''Galatasaray Sports Club''), more commonly referred to as simply Galatasaray and familiarly as Cimbom, is a Turkish sports club based on the European side of the city of Istanbul including basketball, wheelchair ...
v
Antalyaspor Antalyaspor Kulübü is a Turkish professional multi-sport club based in Antalya, southern Turkey. The club's colours are red and white. The association football, football side play their home matches at the Antalya Stadium. In Turkey, the cl ...
match played on 26 February 2024 regarding the mistakes made during the encounter was leaked to the public. The footage allegedly showing conversations between Dallas and referee Abdülkadir Bitigen, in which Dallas confronted the two referees, main referee Bitigen and VAR referee Özgür Yankaya who had officiated the match why they had made such decisions drew great reaction on social media. Dallas argued that the decisions made by the referees were wrong and asked the VAR referee Yankaya: "Why did you call the referee and put him under pressure for such a simple contact?" and main referee Bitigen: "A week later, do you still think it was a foul?", a question which Bitigen would make the following reply: "I think it was a simple contact, I don't think it was a penalty." Yankaya, would also go on to state that he had made a mistake by giving a penalty and also said that when Bitigen said he didn't see the position, he felt to need to analyse it, adding that he was still questioning why he did what he did. At the end of the footage leaked to the public, Dallas was quoted as saying, "We don't give simple penalties even if there is a little contact."


Outside football

Dallas was the managing director of his own window and construction company, until it went into
receivership In law, receivership is a situation in which an institution or enterprise is held by a receiver – a person "placed in the custodial responsibility for the property of others, including tangible and intangible assets and rights" – especia ...
in 2002. Dallas was appointed
Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...
(MBE) in the
2003 New Year Honours The 2003 New Year's Honours List is one of the annual New Year Honours, a part of the British monarch's honours system, where 1 January is marked by naming new members of orders of chivalry and recipients of other official honours. A number of ot ...
for services to football. As discovered by TV show '' Fantasy Football League'', Dallas was once a contestant on ''
Family Fortunes ''Family Fortunes'' is a British television game show based on the American game show ''Family Feud''. The programme ran on ITV from 6 January 1980 to 6 December 2002. A celebrity version, '' All Star Family Fortunes'', followed from 2006 to ...
''. Dallas has also worked as an
after-dinner speaker Public speaking, is the practice of delivering speeches to a live audience. Throughout history, public speaking has held significant cultural, religious, and political importance, emphasizing the necessity of effective rhetorical skills. It all ...
. His son
Andrew Andrew is the English form of the given name, common in many countries. The word is derived from the , ''Andreas'', itself related to ''aner/andros'', "man" (as opposed to "woman"), thus meaning "manly" and, as consequence, "brave", "strong", "c ...
is also a referee. Dallas replaced
Pierluigi Collina Pierluigi Collina (; born 13 February 1960) is an Italian former football referee. He was named "The World's Best Referee" by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics six consecutive times from 1998 to 2003. Collina is sti ...
at
Soccer Aid Soccer Aid is an English annual charity event that has raised over £106 million in aid of UNICEF UK, through ticket sales and donations from the public. The televised event is an exhibition-style football match between two teams, England and ...
2008, after Collina was injured. Scottish band
Mogwai Mogwai () are a Scottish post-rock band, formed in 1995 in Glasgow. The band consists of Stuart Braithwaite (guitar, vocals), Barry Burns (guitar, piano, synthesizer, vocals), Dominic Aitchison (bass guitar), and Martin Bulloch (drums). Mogwa ...
named a song after Dallas which was included in the 2014 re-release of
Come On Die Young ''Come On Die Young'' is the second studio album by Scottish post-rock band Mogwai. The album was released on 29 March 1999 by Chemikal Underground. Overview Songs for ''Come On Die Young'' were written by the band members at home or together i ...
.


References


External links


Article by Dallas on refereeing Old Firm matches
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dallas, Hugh 1957 births Living people Sportspeople from North Lanarkshire Members of the Order of the British Empire Scottish football referees UEFA Champions League referees 1998 FIFA World Cup referees 2002 FIFA World Cup referees Olympic football referees UEFA Euro 2000 referees Scottish Football League referees Scottish Premier League referees