Hugh Dallas responds to 'crackpot' conspiracy theory claiming he’s a Mason

The former referee – now working in Turkey – insists he has only once been to a Masonic hall.

Former top ref Hugh Dallas says he couldn't believe his eyes when he watched a documentary claiming he was a Mason.

But he reckons it's not worth the time trying to dissuade the 'crackpots' who buy into the conspiracy theories. Dallas was one of the Scotland's most prominent refs until his retirement in 2005, officiating at two FIFA World Cups, and spent further time as the SFA's head of refereeing development until 2010. As head honcho for the whistlers in Scotland, he faced plenty of scrutiny from Rangers and Celtic punters, and theories swirled among the latter that Dallas had been a freemason.

Speaking on the GlasGo podcast, the 66-year-old – who now heads up refereeing education with the Turkish FA – says this is simply not the case. That's despite what one documentary claimed, with Dallas insisting he has only been in a masonic hall once ... and it was to give blood.

He said: "I watched a documentary on YouTube about me being a Mason. Not that I respected him, but it was from a respected author and journalist.

"You couldn't make this up. Claiming I was Orange this, masonic that. I've never even been a Masonic hall – I tell a lie, I went in to give a pint of blood one year in Shotts. So where they get this information from, I don't know.

"Of course you're using the word crackpots there, if there are enough of them watching them and listening, they believe that. That particular thing that I watched, Wow. I remember taking legal advice on it. And my lawyer looked at it, and said 'leave it, don't even waste the money'.

"I thought 'right enough'. That's probably the worst thing I've ever read – or the most bizarre, the most untruthful. People will write things that you think are a bit harsh, but when you read things that are just untrue."