Nick Walsh cemented his status as Scotland's top referee and is worth a shot at Champions League level after his Rangers vs Celtic display.
That's the verdict of former Scottish referees Des Roache and Steve Conroy who reckon his performance at Hampden showed he's 'head and shoulders' above the other officials in our game. He cut a calm and composed figure during the blockbuster Old Firm showdown at the National Stadium and waited until the 50th minute to issue his first card. A raft of booking followed for players from both Rangers and Celtic but all justifiable according to the duo.
The whistler has experience of refereeing in the Europa Conference League and the Nations League at international level but after his 'tremendous' display in Mount Florida, Roache and Conroy have called on him to land experience of officiating in the group stages of Europe's Premier competition. Speaking to Grosvenor Sport, they said: “Nick showed why he’s the best referee we’ve got in Scotland. I think he’s been up there and we've John Beaton, Kevin Clancy, Willie Collum, these guys around the same level.
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“But that performance showed he’s head and shoulders above what we’ve got. That cemented his status at the No 1 referee in Scotland.
"He had a tremendous game. He waited until the 50th minute for the first caution, John Lundstram, and all the cautions were justified.
“The whole game he looked calm, composed, you didn’t see much remonstrating from players at ANY of the decisions. Nick will take immense credit from the performance. It will boost his personal confidence and boost his regard with players and other teams.
“So when Aberdeen, Dundee United etc see that Nick is in charge of their game, they know they’ve got the top man. It’s going back to the Hugh Dallas, Kenny Clark, Stuart Dougal or Craig Thomson days.
“He’s done Europa Conference League games and Nations League. Now he deserves the chance to progress further in Europe.
“I hope that Crawford Allan, our Head of Referee Operations, and the SFA are promoting and pushing him to get the better games. He’s certainly worth a couple of Champions League group games next season on that performance. He barely put a foot wrong.
"He was fantastic. It’s as faultless performance I’ve seen in a long time. Nick has got the trajectory to, potentially, be one of the best in Europe."
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