Stuart Dougal is a retired Scottish 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 who was on the FIFA

FIFA

The Fédération Internationale de Football Association , commonly known by the acronym FIFA , is the international governing body of :association football, futsal and beach football. Its headquarters are located in Zurich, Switzerland, and its president is Sepp Blatter, who is in his fourth...

 international list. He refereed the Scottish Cup

Scottish Cup

The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,, commonly known as the Scottish Cup or the William Hill Scottish Cup for sponsorship purposes, is the main national cup competition in Scottish football. It is a knockout cup competition run by and named after the Scottish Football Association.The...

 final in 2004

2004 Scottish Cup Final

The 2004 Scottish Cup Final was played on 22 May 2004 at Hampden Park in Glasgow and was the final of the 118th Scottish Cup. The final was contested by Dunfermline Athletic and Celtic. Celtic came from behind to win the match 3–1.-Match details:...

 and 2008

2008 Scottish Cup Final

The 2008 Scottish Cup Final was a football match which took place at Hampden Park in Glasgow on 24 May 2008. The match was the final of the 123rd Scottish Cup and was contested by Queen of the South and Rangers. Queen of the South beat Aberdeen 4–3 in their semi-final, Rangers beat St...

. As part of a normal refereeing career, Dougal courted controversy, including receiving a fine for bad language towards Christian Nerlinger

Christian Nerlinger

Christian Nerlinger is a retired German footballer who played as a central midfielder.His professional career was mainly associated with Bayern Munich – who he later represented in directorial capacities – and Borussia Dortmund.-Club career:Nerlinger signed for FC Bayern Munich at the age of 13,...

 of 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...

.

On 16 May 2009, Dougal refereed his last game before retiring. It was a highly controversial match between Aberdeen

Aberdeen F.C.

Aberdeen Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Aberdeen...

 and 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...

. He sent off Charlie Mulgrew for an alleged headbutt

Headbutt

A headbutt is a strike with the head, typically involving the use of robust parts of the cranium as areas of impact. Effective headbutting revolves around striking a sensitive area with a less sensitive area, such as striking the nose of an opponent with the forehead...

 on 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...

 after Lafferty conned him by taking an outrageous dive. In the same game he also incorrectly sent off Rangers' central defender Madjid Bougherra

Madjid Bougherra

Madjid Bougherra is a professional footballer. He currently plays for Lekhwiya and the Algeria national team. He is a defender, who can also play as a midfielder....

 on the word of his assistant referee who claimed he deliberately tried to harm Dons keeper Jamie Langfield

Jamie Langfield

James "Jamie" Robert Langfield is a Scottish professional football goalkeeper who currently plays for Forfar Athletic, on loan from Aberdeen.-Domestic:...

. Dougal received heavy criticism for his performance in this game, although the criticism came from Rangers as he gave decisions wrongly for both sides.

In September 2007 Dougal refereed his last international match, a European Championships qualifier between Turkey

Turkey national football team

The Turkey national football team represents Turkey in association football and is controlled by the Turkish Football Federation, the governing body for football in Turkey. They are affiliated with UEFA...

 and Hungary

Hungary national football team

The Hungary national football team represents Hungary in international football and is controlled by the Hungarian Football Federation....

. During this game he mistakenly sent off Zoltan Gera

Zoltán Gera

Zoltán Gera is a Hungarian footballer who currently plays for West Bromwich Albion. He usually plays as an attacking midfielder, though he has also played on both the right and left wings throughout his career...

 believing that he dived inside the box. The match ended 3–0 in Turkey's favour.

Since retiring as a referee, Dougal has written a column for the Daily Record

Daily Record (Scotland)

The Daily Record is a Scottish tabloid newspaper based in Glasgow. It had been the best-selling daily paper in Scotland for many years with a paid circulation in August 2011 of 307,794 . It is now outsold by its arch-rival the Scottish Sun which in September 2010 had a circulation of 339,586 in...

newspaper. He has again courted controversy by criticising St. Mirren

St. Mirren F.C.

St Mirren Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Paisley, Renfrewshire who play in the Scottish Premier League, having been promoted from the First Division in 2005–06.St...

 manager Gus MacPherson

Gus MacPherson

Angus Ian MacPherson is a Scottish former football player and manager. MacPherson played for Kilmarnock for over a decade, making over 350 league appearances. After retiring as a player in 2003, he became manager of St. Mirren, a position he held until May 2010. MacPherson took St...

's treatment of referees.