Driven Willie Collum sets out bold stance as new referees chief - with one big buzzword and innovations

Collum is in good form as he briefs a group of journalists on the fresh regulation changes in Scottish football. He wants the handball rule simplified and less VAR interventions. “I think our interpretation around handball will help if we get it right on the field," he explains. "We would see a reduction in VAR intervention without a doubt. There are difficult decisions about clear and obvious and right and wrong but in general our interpretation around decisions, I’m convinced, will lead to less interventions. And when something leads to an intervention we want everybody whether watching on TV or in the stadium not to be surprised."

Amen to that, Willie. Many in the game have become vexed by contentious handball decisions. Last season in particular led to statements from clubs on VAR, with Motherwell boss Stuart Kettlewell saying he had "given up" on calling Allan to complain.

Collum knows you can never take away the controversy totally away from refereeing decisions. He's been front and centre of them himself for many years. But the 45-year-old speaks with a passion for improving standards across the board for all stakeholders, making life easier for coaches, players, fans and those who put themselves in the centre circle to officiate.

When asked whether he had any reservations about taking over from Allan, Collum is firm in his reply. “None," he says. “I suppose it was put to me and my wife and I had some robust discussions. But not just me, my family has built up a resilience. We have had to. It’s not been easy at times. Part of that goes with the territory, I respect that as well. I want to do the best for Scottish refereeing and I love football. I love Scottish football, I love refereeing and I will throw every bit of energy into making this work.

“What I am really pleased about is I have the referees supporting me. I come into it with a lot of experience. A lot of experience in terms of those highs and lows. I am also in touch with reality. I have refereed with VAR, I’ve been a VAR, so I think that will mean I understand the modern game in refereeing. I’m not saying if you’ve never refereed with VAR you can’t be in this position but I think it is another aspect that will support me moving forward. I know what it’s like to sit behind the screen and to go behind the scene.”

Collum has been a busy man since taking on the role. He has thrown himself into it. He toured round Premiership clubs this week, has met all the head coaches in the top flight and his work extends down to grass-roots level. This is not a job for the faint-hearted. One of Collum's biggest buzz words is respect. Morale dipped to its lowest ebb among referees last season - "I think we don't talk often enough about the mental wellbeing of referees," he admits - and he wants discussions to be far more cordial and courteous when controversy occurs.

"I've said to everybody that I've kept that door open and I'll talk to them about anything they want to ask me about, as long as it's respectful," Collum says of those discussions. "And I think that's two-way. Our door is open and the managers and the people that contact us, they're understanding that we'll not always agree on everything. I think that's important."

One of the requests he has made to coaches is that there is a cooling-off period for all concerned after a major incident. "I've asked the coaches at the Premiership managers' meeting that it would be better for me if that contact is not made immediately after the match, because I think everybody's emotions are high," he reveals. "Also referees - theirs are also high. I've said a few times that a referee has to openly reflect on their own performance just the way a manager or player would need to do so.

"But sometimes the best time to reflect on that performance, or analyse it, is not in the two or three hours immediately after a match. I think a cooling-off period, a chance to gather everybody's thoughts, is a good kind of protocol to go through. That doesn't mean that I won't answer my phone on a Saturday night, but I think it's best that those robust discussions come at a later period."

Collum hopes that being more "transparent" with certain incident will help the wider Scottish football public. While not committing to a certain number of briefings, plans are afoot for decision-making to be made public. “We would like to move in principle, although not categorically, to doing it on a monthly basis," he says. "We would do it through our own media channels at the SFA, showing clips of incidents.

“I’ve got the backing of referees to show good, bad and indifferent. We won’t just show you 10 good clips and say ‘everything’s okay’. But sometimes it’s also good to show clips that people wouldn’t recognise as contentious but so they can understand the decision-making behind it.

“It’s an opportunity for us to explain why a particular decision has been made. It’s not always as simple as it being right or wrong. It’s how the referee or the VAR team have come to a conclusion about a particular decision. I want to be open and transparent about that. It’s something I will drive forward and at this stage, the referees are supporting me on that."

It could lead - eventually - to a referee explaining certain VAR decisions to the crowd, which happened at last summer's women's World Cup. “We’ve had some discussions with Hawkeye this week about the possibilities," reveals Collum. "It’s being trialled at the Olympics right now and has been trialled at the Club World Cup and Women’s World Cup.

“The referee will go to the monitor and make a public announcement. I think it’s coming. Without doubt, that will come in football. We are ready to embrace that. It would require training for our match officials. But if the clubs want it and the finances are there, we certainly won’t put any obstacle in the way of it."

All this could assist in eliminating the seethe that referees encounter on a weekly basis. Statements from angry clubs don't necessarily help either. Collum hopes to avoid that by having more regular meetings with coaches to avoid the same scenario. "When I spoke to the Premiership managers I raised it," Collum continues. "I raised the kind of statements that were made, but rather than me saying to the managers 'just stop it, and then there's not a solution to that', what I've said to them is that I want them to understand that their voice will be heard and that they'll get a chance to feed into us whether they think the decision is right or wrong.

"We also think we can learn from them. They'll bring things to the table that we have not thought about. I think an important aspect for me is rather than saying 'just stop talking about us after a match or stop releasing a statement', we want them to understand that their voice will be heard and that there's a place for them at the table to contribute to referee discussions. I'm hoping being allowed that voice will lead to reduction in the kind of public criticism that comes our way."

And the criticism can be fierce. Collum knows that the amount of pressure put on clubs causes so much of the knee-jerk reaction, but he is quick to remind people that referees are human.

"I understand that football is an emotional sport and people say things," says Collum. "People react differently and I think in refereeing, while sometimes we are disappointed with some things that are said and that criticism is harsh, we also respectfully understand that people are under pressure elsewhere in the game, not just referees, and that sometimes people are saying what they are saying because of the pressure they are under.

"I always think with refereeing that the positives far outweigh the negatives but we need to also protect the referees. That doesn't mean that we justify things when they are wrong but we need to understand why referees make mistakes and we need to understand the professional approach referees have to the game.

"I'm just off the pitch after training seven days a week, analysing matches. People think there's zero accountability in refereeing, that we get a shower after the match and don't think about refereeing again until the next week. Far from it. We live and breathe it in our lives, it's really important to us. Even if they're not full-time, they're professional and they work really hard.

"We'll work with the budget and resources we have to make our referees the very best we can make them but I think we also need to be very careful about referees' mental wellbeing. We talk about that phrase a lot in sport and football, and referees are part of that. We want to make sure our referees are supported in all aspects.

"You build up resilience, you start to realise that criticism is justified but sometimes when it's beyond that, it was a danger for me, when you start to think about how it's affecting your personal life, your family, where you were going out and about with your family, having to take everything into consideration

"I've not met anybody in football that thinks that's acceptable. We wouldn't think it's acceptable for players and coaches, and we don't think it's acceptable for referees, so I would ask everybody involved in football to think about their role and their responsibility to protect the image of the game and support us in encouraging people to come into refereeing so that we can service the game at every level."

That is another of Collum's big goals: improving the standard from the bottom to the very top. It hurt Collum, who was a referee at Euro 2016, that there were no Scottish officials at the recent European Championships. "‘I was a wee bit jealous during the Euros and I have been during previous major tournaments," admits Collum. "I was the last Scottish referee to represent the country at Euro 2016 and that was the highlight of my career.

"It was always a dream as a youngster, though I would love to have played in goals for Scotland. The next best thing for me was refereeing at the Euros. It was my equivalent of playing for Scotland. We need to get our referees back to the top table of European football. We need them supported and we need them in a strong place. Our national team are reaching major tournaments and we need to get our referees there as well.

"It hurts. It’s painful for me. I’m sure players feel it when they don’t qualify for a tournament and the coach feels it as well. And I would be lying if I said I watched that and wasn’t bothered by having no Scottish official there. We want to be back at that top table and I will do everything I can to get our referees back there."

Collum is also acutely aware that the desirability to be a referee will also be affected by negativity surrounding the role. "I think we all have a responsibility with that," he adds. "Everybody has a responsibility to see that we drive forward the process of brining referees in. How do we do that? There is a shortage in certain areas and a problem around retention. Problem is actually a strong word, but we want to make it better.

"We realise from the top level of the game down that influences what happens. And it’s really important that everybody realises the part they play in bringing referees in. Coming from my previous background as an education officer, I don’t want to just pull figures out of thin air. I want to think about a strategy based on rationale about who we want to bring through.

‘We have a big strategy we want to drive through. Women referees and diversity in refereeing are important areas for me and we need to assess that quickly and push it through. We are judged at the top level of the game, but there is a much wider aspect for me to look at and analyse as we move forward. I don’t think that’s a quick fix though."

Collum certainly has his hands full, but bringing success will not come with a lack of effort. Just like he was on the pitch, Collum is determined to get it right.