Scotland's Seoul survivor

He’ll be the only Scot at the World Cup, and wants Ireland and England to be eliminated as soon as possible.

When Hugh Dallas crosses his fingers and hopes for an early England exit from the World Cup, it won’t be because of a deep-rooted love of Sweden, Argentina or Nigeria. And it won’t even be down to the media nasties served up by flag-waving English pundits that make it impossible to stem the tide of petty parochialism in so many of his compatriots.

For Scotland’s only representative in the game’s biggest tournament, the motives are purely selfish.

The longer that England, and probably even the Republic of Ireland, remain in the competition, the more his chances of refereeing the glamorous latter stages will dwindle, and with international retirement looming, Dallas wants to remain in Korea and Japan for as long as he can.

"There are many factors that can decide what games you can referee, and if I referee a team in the group stages, I’m not allowed to referee them later on," he says.

"So if they get to the semi-finals or the finals, then I’ll probably be on a plane home. And if England should progress, then that would damage my chances of being there until the end because I’m looked upon as being British in the eyes of FIFA, and I’m not allowed to referee a game involving them."

A decent run by Ireland, while they are not strictly among the British nations, would have the same effect.

"Four years ago, I was going out as a rookie, and this year I’m probably one of the oldest referees there, retiring in December from internationals. So I’m certainly more aware of what goes on and what’s expected, what the procedure is and how best to prepare myself. I know to be a bit more laid back.

"France was my first tournament, and I was very nervous and didn’t know what to expect. I also didn’t know the other referees that I was going to be living with for five weeks. This time I know practically everyone, and that’s a big benefit. I know I have to get my head down and get on with my job."

That is always more difficult when the eyes of billions are upon you. It is a pressure which Dallas describes as "intense", but it remains a challenge on which he thrives.

"You obviously try to treat it like any game, but you are aware that the TV coverage is going to billions of viewers and, unlike domestically where there’s maybe 20 cameras one week and then one the following week, out there you know that every game is covered intensely. There’s no respite."

And no hiding place. Dallas is honest enough to confess to blunders that have caused him to grimace when he sees them replayed, and he can empathise with other officials who fluff their lines on the big stage.

"We all make mistakes, and as I’ve said before, the best referees make the least mistakes. There are definitely games when you cringe at decisions, whether they are ones you’ve made and you see it again on television, or ones another referee has made. You look at it and say, ‘Oh deary me, that’s not done me any favours’. We’ve all seen some howlers, but although they genuinely are honest mistakes, it doesn’t make it any easier if you’re the one who’s made them.

"It’s always a bit more difficult when you’re abroad, but you pick up certain buzz words. If you’re refereeing France against Denmark, it’s a benefit because the bulk of the players will speak English. But if you’re refereeing Senegal against a South American team, then it’s going to be harder because fewer of the players will speak English.

"What you then do is use key words, like tranquilo, which means calm down, and you depend more on body language: it’s wee silly things like tapping a player on the back or tugging his shirt as you pass him to attract his attention and let him know I’m watching him. Sometimes just giving them an angry look is enough to get the message across."

Having refereed sides from every continent and strolled through the potentially-fiery qualifier between Brazil and Uruguay, Dallas is ready for whatever challenge he is set. But he won’t find out what that will be until he is ensconced in his Korean hotel with another 15 referees.

"They’ve decided to split us into two groups, so there will be 16 referees based in Tokyo and 16 based in Seoul. I know for a fact that I’ll be in Seoul, which I’m quite pleased about because I was there last year for the Confederations Cup, so I know the surroundings. But we won’t find out which game we’ve been appointed to until we’re out there and they have put us through training sessions, and stuff like that. There will be a two-day course going through videos and administration and the whole thing, and then there will be a meeting with the media. Only after all that will the matches be allocated."

It is then that mental strength comes into play. "One referee will get a game within about four days of arriving there, but there will be a referee who will be there nearly three weeks before he gets his ties, and that will be hard because the referees who get the first few matches set the ground rules, and FIFA then start tweaking it and demanding that this gets clamped down on or that gets clamped down on. So you’re watching everything and you have got to be so switched on.

"It’s the very same as the players. If they don’t perform well for their team then they won’t be playing in the next game. The referees are no different.

"The fact is that you’re there with the best referees in the world, and the performances are hopefully going to be really, really high. And, if I’m being honest, I just hope that I can perform that wee bit better than everybody else."