Play all audios:
A review of the Scottish Football Association’s disciplinary process looks likely to follow its announcement yesterday that Clare Whyte, its compliance officer, will stand down in the new
year. While a replacement will be sought for Whyte, who has been in the post since August 2018, it is understood that the forthcoming vacancy is being viewed as an opportunity for the game’s
governing body. As part of an “overarching review” that would be part of a new strategic plan for the SFA, clubs could be invited to submit their thoughts on a disciplinary process that has
come in for heavy criticism. Whyte has been accused of applying too rigidly the protocols of a flawed system. The SFA has come under fire for a series of high-profile inconsistencies.
During Whyte’s first season in the job, a number of controversies led to a summit between officials and managers. Advertisement In February of this year, the SFA’s failure to overturn a red
card for the Inverness Caledonian Thistle striker, James Keatings, provoked an outcry. Alan Burrows, the Motherwell chief executive, called for the judicial panel protocols to be “completely
torn up and rewritten”. Leeann Dempster, the Hibs chief executive, said that the system needed “positive surgery” to quell “discontented clubs”. Speaking after the Keatings incident,
Dempster said: “Instead of just sitting whingeing about it, clubs need to be a part of it. I want us to be part of it and I know there are other clubs who feel the same. We want a compliance
system that everybody buys into.” Yesterday, the SFA said in a statement that Whyte would take up a new opportunity early in 2021. Until then, she would remain in her post so that there was
a “smooth handover period with her successor”. Ian Maxwell, the SFA chief executive, said: “I would like to thank Clare for her commitment to the role over the past two years with the
Scottish FA. Advertisement “In what is a high-pressure position in a relentless environment, she has shown professionalism and resilience. We will begin the process of recruiting a
replacement in early course.”