Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross returns to refereeing role

Image source, PA

Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross is to resume his role as a football referee after more than 18 months out injured.

He is due to work as a linesman at the League Cup match between Elgin City and Queen of the South on Saturday.

The MP and MSP has not officiated at a competitive game since January 2021.

The job has attracted controversy in the past, after Mr Ross missed a Commons vote for one game and later failed to declare earnings from it.

However, both Westminster and Holyrood will be in recess when the game kicks off.

Mr Ross, who is the MP for Moray, has been a qualified referee for almost 20 years and has worked as a linesman in top games both in Scotland and across Europe.

He once missed a House of Commons vote as he was officiating at a Barcelona match in the Champions League, leading one SNP MP to brandish a red card across the chamber.

This led to him promising not to accept appointments while parliament is sitting - something which saw him dropping out of the running to officiate at the 2018 World Cup.

And in November 2021 he apologised after reporting himself to the Commons authorities for failing to declare 拢6,700 of earnings as a match official for the Scottish Football Association.