Bobby Madden has admitted he supported Rangers as a youngster after the final whistle blew on his refereeing career this week.
But the 44-year-old, who took charge of eight Old Firm debires between the Light Blues and their great rivals Celtic, rejected suggestions he was ever a season ticket holder at Ibrox, insisting he wound up supporting St Mirren with his brother and was more focused on running endeavours before he got into refereeing.
The East Kilbride whistler called time on his 20-year career after leaving Scottish football last term for a season in the English Football League.
And speaking to BBC Scotland, Madden addressed the claims that followed him during his officiating days in Scotland.
He said: "This has been bandied about for years and I can speak openly now, and I think anyone who knows me will know. I was raised by my grandparents and my grandfather was a massive Rangers fan and took me to Ibrox until I was about 12 or 13. And through ill-health stopped going.
"My brother was a St Mirren fan. But at that point of 12, 13, 14, I started running, I became a junior international, so I really took a limited interest in football at that stage. When I didn't have a race, I would go to Love Street as it was called at the time.
"I would go there with my brother who had a season ticket. So no, you hear the rumours, I'm a mason, a shareholder, I ran a supporters bus.
"It's very easy to create a rumour now and if someone says I used to work with him, it gives a degree of credibility and they can put anything on that.
"I worked in a distribution centre for 12 years. They knew I was a runner, on spare weekends I went to Love Street. I actually sat beside some people who worked with us I knew, people will always try to find a way to criticise and cast aspersions.
"So I did go when I was younger with my grandfather but I was never a season ticket holder or any of these other things."
During his spell as an official, Madden was involved in some of the biggest game in Europe, including the 2015 UEFA Super Cup final between Barcelona and Sevilla that end 5-4, and was part of Willie Collum's team that officiated at the European Championships in 2016.
In late 2016 he overcame a battle with thyroid cancer, which had been diagnosed before he took part in Euro 2016.
Announcing his retirement on social media this week, Madden - who had played for his local amateur side East Kilbride YM in his younger days - posted: "Twenty's plenty... it's time to hang up my whistle."
He had planned on retiring next year but told the BBC that a club official in the English League using anti-Scottish language towards him and how that was handled, proved to be a factor in his decision.
He said: "There was a reluctance to progress with the case.
"There was an accusation towards a club official making a discriminatory remark. You can go down the whole 'being Scottish is a protected characteristic in terms of equality' so I tried to pursue that and I had the support of my colleague.
"That support was then retracted by that colleague, which is frustrating because once you then go one word against another, it's very difficult to prove these things.
"The decision in the end was to not progress because I didn't see the point in putting myself through that without the opportunity of reaching the correct outcome in terms of sanctions. That frustrated me, absolutely frustrated me."
He added of his experience in England that he "didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would have."
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