More than 54% of players in the Scottish Premiership are foreign, according to Joel Sked of the SCOTSMAN. Figures from Transfermarkt show that Scotland's 12 teams have a total of 307 players, 168 of which are "classed as foreign." English players "make up a large portion of that figure" with 63, followed by Ireland (18) and Northern Ireland (12), while Australia provides 10. Aside from Scotland, a total of 46 nations are represented in the league, from Burundi to Albania, Honduras to Zimbabwe. Motherwell has the highest percentage of foreign players in its squad (SCOTSMAN, 12/11).
'ABUSE CULTURE': The BBC's Kheredine Idessane reported the "abuse culture" in Scottish football "must stop" before match officials are "seriously injured," referee John McKendrick warned. Assistant referee Calum Spence was hit by an object thrown from the crowd in Livingstone's win over Rangers. McKendrick, a top-level official for 14 years, said, "Physical violence is totally unacceptable. Unless we make a concerted effort to remove this form our game then something more serious will happen." McKendrick is concerned too many managers are "overstepping the mark" with their comments on officials. He said, "There are concerns the climate just now is very anti-referee" (BBC, 12/11).
