Referee Bobby Madden is retiring a year early after growing "frustrated" with the English system. The Scot, 44, took charge of more than 1,000 Scottish games before moving to England's League One and Two last year and planned to retire in 2024. He told the BBC's Scottish Football podcast a club official using discriminatory language towards him contributed towards his retirement. "There was a reluctance to progress with the case," said Madden. "There was an accusation towards a club official making a discriminatory remark. You can go down the whole 'being Scottish is a protected characteristic in terms of equality' so I tried to pursue that, and I had the support of my colleague. That support was then retracted by that colleague, which is frustrating because once you then go one word against another, it's very difficult to prove these things. The decision in the end was to not progress because I didn't see the point in putting myself through that without the opportunity of reaching the correct outcome in terms of sanctions. That frustrated me, absolutely frustrated me."
Madden also outlined the differences over how referees are assessed north and south of the border. "In Scotland, you have one observer, who gives a mark to a referee based on his performance," he explained. "In England, you have an assessor, who gives 20% towards your overall mark. Another 40% is a panel who look at each key match decision. The other 40% is split between the two clubs. Referees are essentially pandering to clubs. I've seen clear acts of simulation, clear acts of dissent, foul and abusive language overlooked because there's a reluctance to challenge that. I've seen very, very good referees in England in my year there, you can see that they're struggling how to manage games because they don't know who to appease more. Your marks at the end of the season determine will you progress; will you be retained or will you be demoted."
Madden, who took two months out of football in 2016 to undergo treatment for thyroid cancer, sought a change of scene last summer after 19 years in Scotland and having stepped away from international refereeing. However, he confesses he "didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would've. Probably the level of football wasn't what I expected," he said. "There was obviously far more travel from my base that I had in Carlisle."
Source: BBC