A day on from Celtic’s 2-0 win at Pittodrie, a major VAR blunder has emerged and it’s one that has left supporters scratching their heads.

Aberdeen captain Graeme Shinnie appeared to blatantly handle the ball inside his own box. Attempting to guard the ball, Shinnie reached out with both hands to prevent it from going out for a corner. Kieran Tierney and Daizen Maeda reacted instantly, appealing to referee John Beaton, but play was waved on.

What’s even more baffling is that VAR, led by Andrew Dallas on the day, did not intervene. The incident, captured on the match broadcast, shows Shinnie making no attempt to disguise the movement – the kind of decision that usually results in a penalty without hesitation.

Watch the incident here:

The non-award will only fuel the ongoing debate over VAR’s role in Scottish football, especially in light of the system being introduced to eliminate obvious errors.

The controversy did not impact the result, with goals from Benjamin Nygren and Reo Hatate sealing the points, but the scale of the oversight will raise serious questions.

Heading into the season, Willie Collum was confident in the technology, entering its third season in Scottish football.

“We’re in a good place. We feel on the same page with the clubs as well, which is really, really important and I’m confident

 “We’re pretty much 99 per cent there with the clubs and decisions. The decisions that maybe we’re not on the same page, we’ve listened to our stakeholders, we’ve listened to the clubs, we’ve listened to the coaches.

“I think it’s really, really important to have good relationships with an open door policy to engage with the clubs, with the players. Also, to learn from them.

“We’re really pushing hard the captain-referee approach domestically as well, so we want to see these good relationships on the pitch. I feel we’re in a good place in terms of relationship, but it’s so important because we need to help each other.

“The clubs, the coaches, the players, they need us as well to explain things and we need them to come and support us.”

Rodgers’ side now move on to a League Cup tie against Falkirk on Friday night, but this latest VAR storm will rumble on.

6 COMMENTS

  1. Are we really surprised. Despite the best efforts of officials we are still 4 ahead of the Ranjurs. Not just one bad decision at the weekend plenty of them

  2. Aaron, respectfully, I believe the use of the word “blunder” in the headline here is misleading to say the very least.
    A “blunder” by its very definition is an error or a mistake.
    We all know this was neither!
    The season is two weeks old and already we have seen evidence of what lies ahead.
    Against St. Mirren last week there were two incidents, one for each team, a full-on handball by Gogic which was completely unavoidable therefore play was waved on, no penalty to Celtic. Good call. No VAR INTERVENTION.
    An almost identical bounce of the ball twenty yards from goal, the ball bounces up, hits McGregor on the ARM in an equally tight situation, but he gains control and scores a perfectly good goal. Ref gives the goal, VAR calls ref to intervene and the ref disallows the goal for handball!
    So ond ball to HAND, ignored, one ball to ARM, penalized. Curiously, both calls penalized us.
    This week, the blatant handball in the middle of the park happened directly in front of Beaton who had a 100% clear view. So he CHOSE to let it go! It led to Aberdeen’s ONLY shot on target the whole game as it happened! But not only should that have been a free kick for handball ball. It was a yellow card offence for a deliberate hand ball!
    Then of course this other one by Shinnie! Two hands! Absolutely no excuses neither for Beaton, nor the most corrupt anti-Celtic official in Scotland, Andrew Dallas.
    If Beaton claims not to have been able to see it, he’s lying because his pitch position proves otherwise!
    If Dallas claims not to have seen it, he’s lying should be fired for not paying attention.
    Collum has lied yet again. They have no intention of being fair to all clubs.
    Only one matters to them as the ghost penalty proved on Saturday against Dundee!
    Shamefully disgraceful.
    But really, what did we all expect?
    But let’s not call these “blunders”
    That’s one thing they’re NOT!

  4. They chose what tha algorithm has flagged up. Var sees all, it flags up handball, they (Dobith) choose not tae view such things, they over-rule such things.

    Whilst ‘they’ on another channel, w2nk away their lives, watching their friends fat wives on ‘Only Fans’ and then complain they ape jellie-fish stings, so they can urinate on their faces later.

    Durtie fuc&in apron wearin cun7z.

  5. What a despicable article. Why is your focus of this blatant cheating on ‘The VAR’ when the problem is the officials? The same officials making the same “blunders” all the time – Beaton and Dallas etc.

    Just about everyone watching that game clearly seen that “blunder”, and many other “blunders”, and we did so without the help of VAR technology. Those 2 officials need to be sacked. Corrupt cheats, plain and simple. And that’s not even mentioning the constant inconsistencies.

    Why, for instance, did Celtic finish that game with more bookings than
    Aberdeen? Why did Aberdeen finish that game with a full quota of players still on the field? Same as when we faced them previously Jota nearly had his career ended and not even as much as a yellow-card.

    Call it what it is, incompetence or blatant cheating/corruption? I know what i believe it to be, and it’s not incompetence. We will get nowhere if those with the power to call it out, ie: Celtic bloggers, act as another branch of the British media.

    Please start calling this out. Please start calling it for what it is.

  6. Also, i meant to add, just wait and see if Aberdeen get away with the same tactics when they play ‘TheRangers’. I think we all know how that will go, eh!

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