signed an agreement to stop discussing refereeing decisions after matches. According to Rangers manager Walter Smith, the agreement was a "show of intent from managers that there is an acceptance that there are too many headlines being grabbed by the fact that we may be a little critical of referees at times", while the then Celtic manager Gordon Strachan stated "we think we should take the pressure off referees a bit", and "Whether it works or not, I don't know, but it's worth a try". By the time of the 2010 strike, that experiment was described by BBC Scotland as having been short-lived, and by The Scotsman as having been gradually undermined. Penalty incident and aftermath Refereeing in Scotland came under intense media attention in 2010 after a controversial incident on 17 October, during an SPL game between Dundee United and Celtic, which Celtic won 2–1. When the score was level at 1–1, referee Dougie McDonald awarded a penalty kick to Celtic. After consulting with assistant referee Steven Craven, McDonald annulled his initial decision. Celtic officials heavily criticised the decision to not award a penalty after the game. After Craven resigned on 25 October, it emerged that he and McDonald had lied to his supervisor, Jim McBurney, and to Celtic manager Neil Lennon about the decision making process. McDonald had claimed that he had changed his mind after consulting with Craven, when in fact he had changed his mind himself before consulting Craven. This revelation prompted an investigation by the SFA, which resulted in McDonald receiving an official warning on 29 October, while also upholding the actual decision. Both before and after the warning was given, however, there were calls for McDonald to resign. There was also disagreement over the actual version of events between Craven, McDonald, and SFA Head of Referee Development Hugh Dallas. While resisting calls for an independent inquiry into the McDonald incident, SFA chief executive Stewart Regan launched an inquiry to review how referees are disciplined, suggesting the current method of examination by a panel of mostly former referees was improper. According to The Telegraph recounting the McDonald incident on the eve of the strike, "the rules do not permit McDonald to be sacked", and having declined to resign as the newspaper alleged some at the SFA felt he should, he subsequently returned to the referees roster. On 28 November, the day after Scottish referees went