DOUGLAS Ross has been forced to apologise for missing a VJ Day memorial to officiate at a football match.
The Moray MP was accused of disrespecting Second World War heroes after skipping a remembrance service in Forres to run the line at Kilmarnock versus St Johnstone.
But it’s not the first time the new Scottish Tory leader’s side gig has landed him in hot water.
READ MORE: Douglas Ross skips VJ Day memorial to referee a football match
In October 2017, Ross pocketed an estimated £1400 for officiating in a Champions League match in Barcelona.
Unfortunately for the Tory MP, the glamour fixture coincided with a Universal Credit debate in the Commons.
The chair of a local food bank reportedly said they felt “let down” after taking the time to brief Ross on the damaging impact of Universal Credit.
The Moray representative was eventually forced to give up on his dream of refereeing at a World Cup. He vowed to only referee at weekends while Parliament was sitting, saying that would be in the “best interests” of his constituents.
READ MORE: Call for Tory referee MP Douglas Ross who missed vote to donate match fee to local food bank
And yet fast forward two years and he was at it again.
Ross was accused of breaking a promise to constituents after officiating another midweek Championship League game.
He made the most of Boris Johnson’s unlawful proroguing of Parliament to nip off to Germany for Bayern Munich against Red Star Belgrade.
The SNP commented: “With his boss Boris Johnson suspending parliament, he thinks he can just swan off on Champions League duty at a crucial time in politics, with just over a month until Brexit, when MPs should really be back at work.
“With an early General Election looking very likely, constituents will take a dim view of this broken promise.”
The Scottish Tories accused the SNP of jealousy, stating: “If the SNP had talented politicians like Douglas who could work on the world stage, they’d understand it’s something voters in Moray and everywhere else actually quite like to see.”
READ MORE: Tory referee Douglas Ross accused of breaking constituent vow
Earlier this year, Ross once again sparked controversy by skipping a TV debate on his government’s derided immigration plans to referee a football match in Ukraine.
He took a break from his new role in the Scotland Office to run the line at the Shakhtar Donetsk vs Benfica match in Kharkiv.
Meanwhile, the Scotland Office were refusing to put anyone up to defend Boris Johnson’s immigration plans amid desperate pleas from the BBC.
READ MORE: Douglas Ross missed BBC immigration debate to referee football match
Despite this weekend’s row adding yet more unwanted attention to the Scottish Tory leader’s second job, he is vowing to carry on juggling the roles.
Ross says he won’t give it up until he’s named first minister of Scotland, so he could be waiting a while to hang up his whistle.
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