conducted at a Spanish winter training camp in February, and alleged Hugh Dallas had been "taken aback" by the results and had instituted remedial action. Strike action During a meeting in the afternoon of Sunday, 21 November, the Category One referees voted to strike over the crisis. Media reports suggested all 31 of the 33 Category One referees present at the meeting voted for the strike, supported by all 10 Category Two officials also present. The meeting had followed a regular monthly SFA organised meeting, after which the referees asked to carry on using the room for a meeting of the Scottish Senior Football Referees Association. Based on the fact that Category Three officials represented by both the SRFA and the Scottish Association of Referees (SAR) had not been represented at the strike meeting, the SSFRA informed them on 23 November that as far as they were concerned, they were at liberty to choose whether or not they accepted appointments for the weekend. Former Scottish referee Kenny Clark said that the reason for the strike was that referees were at "the end of their tether" over the effect criticism of their decisions was having on themselves, their families, and their professional lives. He cited instances of hate email being sent to the workplaces of referees. Fearing rising tension would lead to attacks, according to Clark, the strike was intended to "put down a marker", and that the comments from Reid had "put the tin lid on it" in the strike meeting. Another former Scottish referee Stuart Dougal said he believed that the SFA had not "been strong enough to come out in defence of referees" since the McDonald incident, and that while referees accepted criticism, "When there is innuendo, and questioning the referee's integrity, that's when it becomes unacceptable". According to The Daily Telegraph, the Sunday Mail story published in the morning the strike meeting was called "was regarded by many at [the strike] meeting as the last straw". The referees stated that the strike would go ahead irrespective of the outcome of talks conducted in the intervening week, but that referees would return to officiating after the weekend action. The consequent negotiations, which were described by the referees as constructive, included the offer from the SFA of a ban on all immediate comment from managers on referees before and after games, and stricter sanctions for those who question referees