The Scottish Football Association will not take referees responsible for disputable decisions out of the appeals process. Both Celtic, who recently criticised the SFA and ref Dougie McDonald for the decision to uphold Scott Brown’s Old Firm red card, and PFA Scotland have called for the current system to be changed.

At present, referees are asked to review their original calls when a club appeals a decision. A review panel then only comes into play if the referee concedes that he may have made an error in his judgement.

Celtic complained that system was flawed and called for change but the SFA’s chief executive, Gordon Smith, says any attempts to adjust the system would be in breach of Fifa laws.

"In light of recent comment in the media I feel compelled to clarify the Scottish FA's disciplinary procedures, in particular relating to claims of wrongful dismissal,” Smith said in a statement. "Let me state clearly that neither myself nor the Scottish FA believes the current system is without flaw.

"Nevertheless, it was implemented after discussions with the wider Scottish football constituency through the Disciplinary Committee's working party, which consists of representatives of the Scottish Premier League, Scottish Football League, Managers' and Coaches' Association, PFA Scotland and the Referees' Union.

"It should be noted here that while the Celtic chairman, Dr John Reid, believes the procedure should involve a review panel - "this is surely the only right and proper process" - with no input from the match official in charge, this would, in fact, contravene one of Fifa's fundamental laws of the game, namely ‘the decision of the referee is final’.

"Furthermore, for the purposes of transparency, it should be pointed out that when the claim for wrongful dismissal procedure was amended in 2007, it was approved by the Disciplinary Committee, of which Eric Riley, Celtic's financial director, was chairman.

"He remains part of the committee as vice-chairman and, thus, would be in an ideal position to address any concerns raised by his club.”

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Despite the refusal of the governing body to buckle under the pressure being placed upon them to change their process immediately, Smith did say that the SFA are already exploring options to make the disciplinary appeals procedure more satisfactory and also invited any ideas that would still satisfy Fifa rules.

"We are mindful of the growing public debate to streamline and harmonise the current procedures and I can confirm that discussions have already taken place to expedite certain aspects of the process,” Smith continued.

"We are also open to new ideas. It has become apparent in recent weeks that while there is a degree of unhappiness - and arguably a greater degree of misunderstanding - over disciplinary procedures, nobody has volunteered a viable alternative that would satisfy Fifa's laws of the game.

"The Scottish FA is acutely aware that football dominates the national agenda in an era of instant information and it is my intention as chief executive to help implement measures that improve the speed and consistency of decision-making to everyone's satisfaction."