Pundit Michael Stewart has been the subject of debate this weekend after he was banned from entering Hampden by the SFA for the weekend's Scottish Cup games. His criticism of match officials was seen as going too far, raising questions over how scrutiny is being handled by the people at the top.
For a long time, there has been a question over the standard of refereeing in Scotland. Everyone is pretty much on the same page: It isn't good. We need serious intervention, but we will seemingly never get it.
The decision to ban Stewart highlights the fact that change is not on the horizon. Rather than taking criticism on board and realising the problems that affect Scottish football, the SFA would rather turn a blind eye and shut out anyone who dares to speak up.
Football is apparently a 'game of opinions', but this situation puts that at risk. We have already seen individual clubs, like Celtic, banning journalists and publications who dare to criticise the board or certain aspects of the team, but for the top association in the country to be doing such a thing is genuinely shocking.
They believe that Stewart's criticism was questioning their integrity, but who defines the line for that? Who can decide what is criticism and what is questioning? Don't they, and shouldn't they, come hand in hand?
Speaking about the situation, Stewart said: "Instead of trying to silence voices of dissent, the Scottish FA should be engaging with us, answering our questions and explaining their position.
"People have every right to disagree with me – and many of them do every day. But all football commentators should be free to express an opinion, without being denied access to the places we go to do our jobs."
Why can't Scottish football tolerate opinions?
This raises the question of why Scottish football can't tolerate opinions. With both clubs and the SFA dishing out media bans at will, why can't journalists feel safe in expressing their thoughts?
The beauty of writing is that it's powerful. It's a space where we can write our genuine thoughts and express how we feel about the sport we love in a journalistic manner. We are allowed to be scrutinised, but there has to be a line between scrutiny and not being allowed to do our jobs.
The SFA are trying to control the narrative in this country, and it clearly isn't working. The outrage from fans of all clubs says enough, and hopefully it will push them to lift the ban on Stewart.
Don't count on bans going away anytime soon though. Sadly, too many people, clubs and associations rely on them, so it seems like they're here to stay.
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