| Full name | Steven McLean | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born | (1981-04-01)April 1, 1981 (age 44) | ||
| Domestic | |||
| Years | League | Role | |
| 1997– | Scottish Football Association | Referee | |
| 2007–2013 | SFL /SPL | Referee | |
| 2013– | SPFL | Referee | |
| International | |||
| Years | League | Role | |
| 2010–2017 | FIFA listed | Referee | |
Steven McLean (born 1 April 1981) is a Scottishfootballreferee.[1] He became aFIFA referee in 2010[2] and was selected to officiate at the2011 UEFA U17 European Championship.
In October 2011 McLean was in charge of a2013 European Under-21 qualifier involvingSpain andCroatia.[3]
In January 2012 McLean was the referee for aScottish League Cup semi-final[4] - anAyrshire derby betweenKilmarnock andAyr United, won by the former who went on to lift the trophy.
In March 2014 McLean refereed his first major national final, the2014 Scottish League Cup Final betweenAberdeen andInverness Caledonian Thistle which Aberdeen won in apenalty shoot-out. However at the end of the league season he angered Aberdeen managerDerek McInnes by failing to award a foul in the last minute of their match withMotherwell, permitting Motherwell to score the winning goal and thereby overtake Aberdeen inthe standings.[5]
In 2015, McLean took charge of aLeague Cup semi-final between Aberdeen andDundee United, and aScottish Cup semi-final between Inverness CT andCeltic; he and his assistants came in for criticism for their performance in the latter match, where they missed an apparent deliberate handball by an Inverness defender in his own penalty area at a pivotal point in the game.[6][7]
McLean was in-charge of another semi-final in January 2016 whenHibernian metSt Johnstone in theLeague Cup.
In May 2016 McLean was selected to officiate his firstScottish Cup final, the2016 edition atHampden Park involvingRangers and Hibernian,[8][7] and was also chosen for Scottish football's most high-profile domestic league fixture, theOld Firm derby, onHogmanay 2016 - both matches passed with no controversy on the part of the officials.
McLean was not selected on the SFA's list of international FIFA officials for 2017.[9] He was appointedfourth official for the Scottish Cup final in2018 and2024 and the League Cup final in2024. He was also the first-everVideo Assistant Referee deployed at a Scottish Cup final, in2023. He was appointed as a FIFA VAR official in 2025.[10]
As of 2016, McLean was employed full-time by the SFA as a recruitment and education officer for referees[11] and is also a qualifiedfitness instructor andphysiotherapist (member ofCSP).[12] He left his role with Scottish FA in 2019 has since operated two physiotherapy clinics in the West of Scotland.[13]
He is the son of former Kilmarnock playerStuart McLean[14][15] and the brother of footballerBrian McLean.[16]