Last updated on .From the section Scottish

Douglas Ross has felt the wrath of managers like Brendan Rodgers

Referee Douglas Ross has stressed that employing full-time officials at Scottish matches would not stop mistakes and controversial decisions.

Former Scotland striker Steven Thompson has urged authorities to follow England's lead and employ officials on a full-time basis and pay a salary.

Ross told BBC Scotland he does not think it will make much difference.

"All I would say is, in England, they employ full-time referees and there are still controversies," he said.

"Unfortunately, the beautiful game that so many of us enjoy, part of the reason many people enjoy it is because it's down to a matter of opinions."

Referees had already come in for criticism this season before a series of controversial incidents during Wednesday's Scottish Premiership programme.

A penalty awarded to St Johnstone angered Hearts, while commentators questioned a red card shown to Aberdeen's Sam Cosgrove against Rangers and suggested Celtic's Filip Benkovic should not have had a goal disallowed against Motherwell.

Thompson made his plea for full-time officials on BBC Scotland's Sportsound.

Part-time official Ross, who is also an MP, has cut back on officiating at games due to his work at Westminster but does not think salaried officials would necessarily be the answer.

"Whether you are professional, part-time or do it at the weekend as a hobby, there will always be interpretations and mistakes made," he added. "That's unfortunately part of football."