Dr. Steve Conroy is a Scottish

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 football

Football (soccer)

Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...

 referee.

Refereeing career

Conroy became a referee in 1993 and was admitted to the SFA list five years later. He is a regular referee in the Scottish Premier League

Scottish Premier League

The Scottish Premier League , also known as the SPL , is a professional league competition for association football clubs in Scotland...

 and the Scottish Football League

Scottish Football League

The Scottish Football League is a league of football teams in Scotland, comprising theScottish First Division, Scottish Second Division and Scottish Third Division. From the league's foundation in 1890 until the breakaway Scottish Premier League was formed in 1998, the Scottish Football League...

.

On 10 March 2007, Conroy was the official for a SPL match between Hearts and Aberdeen. During the course of the match he sent off Hearts player Laryea Kingston

Laryea Kingston

Laryea Kingston is a Ghanaian professional footballer, who is currently playing for Israeli Premier League club Hapoel Be'er Sheva in Israel...

. Kingston reportedly reacted to the red card by calling Conroy a racist. Conroy reported Kingston to the Scottish FA for using "offensive, insulting and abusive language". Kingston subsequently faced a disciplinary hearing on 1 May 2007 at which the SFA decided that a further 3 game ban was in order.

Conroy took charge of his first Old Firm

Old Firm

The Old Firm is a common collective name for the association football clubs Celtic and Rangers, both based in Glasgow, Scotland.The origin of the term is unclear. One theory has it that the expression derives from Celtic's first game in 1888, which was played against Rangers. However, author,...

 game on 3 January 2010. Conroy was criticised for his performance in the game after disallowing a goal from Celtic's

Celtic F.C.

Celtic Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, which currently plays in the Scottish Premier League. The club was established in 1887, and played its first game in 1888. Celtic have won the Scottish League Championship on 42 occasions, most recently in the...

 Marc-Antoine Fortuné

Marc-Antoine Fortuné

Marc-Antoine Fortuné is a French footballer who plays for Premier League club West Bromwich Albion.-Early life:...

 for a foul on Rangers

Rangers F.C.

Rangers Football Club are an association football club based in Glasgow, Scotland, who play in the Scottish Premier League. The club are nicknamed the Gers, Teddy Bears and the Light Blues, and the fans are known to each other as bluenoses...

 goalkeeper Allan McGregor

Allan McGregor

Allan James McGregor is a Scottish association footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Rangers and the Scotland national team...

 and for showing a yellow card to Rangers striker Kyle Lafferty

Kyle Lafferty

Kyle Lafferty is an Northern Irishassociation footballer who currently plays as a striker for Scottish Premier League side Rangers and the Northern Ireland national team...

 following a heavy challenge on Celtic's Andreas Hinkel

Andreas Hinkel

Andreas Hinkel is a German footballer who currently plays for German Bundesliga club SC Freiburg.He is a right back and has 21 caps for Germany....

when Celtic fans and some reporters had argued the challenge was deemed worthy of a straight red.