VAR is a very controversial topic, you are either for it or against it. Looking elsewhere, both when Celtic competes in Europe and other top-flight divisions around the continent, it is clear that along with the positive come negatives.

Whether Thursday night’s goal was offside or not, or any goal in the league this season, the stoppage of play will still be unavoidable.

When teams face Celtic, the referee always manages to get the majority of his decisions wrong, somehow. With no sign of this improving, even with VAR, fans and clubs must highlight the woeful performances we are witnessing from our officials.

Last night on a number of occasions Bobby Madden was using his whistle unnecessarily, it was almost like he wanted to be the centre of attention. Despite his whistle sounding 21 times, he only used his yellow card on the field once. Even so, when he did book Adam Montgomery it was needless and the game could have flowed without any consequences.

Petty fouls were awarded when it would have been more beneficial to let play continue, especially when no card was issued. Had VAR been in use, the game would still have the constant break up as VAR can only intervene for “clear and obvious errors” or “serious missed incidents” in four match-changing situations: goals; penalty decisions; direct red-card incidents; and mistaken identity.

The bottom line is, the standard of refereeing in Scotland is extremely poor and if the current officials were controlling VAR, would it be effective?

This debate will continue for a long time, even if/when VAR is introduced to the Scottish game.

2 COMMENTS

  1. You are right that the problem is the standard of referring in the game in Scotland. But can you honestly see The Brother Masons using VAR to the determent of the Ibrox Club?

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