WE NEED VAR

Scotland’s refs urging SFA and SPFL to find cash for technology or risk damaging our game

SCOTLAND’S referees have urged the SFA and SPFL to stump up the cash to implement VAR during showdown talks.

A three-man delegation from the Scottish Senior Football Referees’ Association have met the governing bodies to ask for their help to get more decisions right following a series of controversies last season.

A summit of managers, referees and the game’s hierarchy in Perth in January ended with SFA chief executive Ian Maxwell claiming there was now ‘a real appetite to investigate VAR’.

With video assistant referees likely to cost the Scottish game a seven-figure sum, however, clubs have yet to give the scheme the green light.

And Bobby Madden (pictured), who joined SSFRA chairman Kevin Clancy and Willie Collum in meeting the SFA and SPFL, fears the credibility of the league could be damaged unless they dig deep soon.

‘The referee movement fully supports VAR,’ Madden said last night. ‘Anything that increases the accuracy in decisions we would welcome.

‘I successfully used it in the European Under-21 Championships in Italy this summer. It will be introduced in the Champions League, so myself and Willie will use it again.

‘Anything that can improve that level of accuracy, we would welcome.

‘Myself, Willie and Kevin Clancy met the League and the SFA last week to discuss where we are. The SFA have taken that first step of declaring a note of interest to IFAB (International Football Association Board), so then there is a process to follow.

‘There are discussions there. Who will fund it? Will it be the League or the SFA? How will the training be framed?

‘There is extensive training, I had 16 away days in Europe plus

a full week to be IFAB-approved to referee and act as a VAR.

‘As much as we’re doing the work to investigate how it will be financed, I think there’s a lot we can do as a referee movement to start our training in the background.’

Sportsmail understands that Scotland’s FIFA-listed referees fear their prospects of landing appointments to the major international tournaments could be impeded unless VAR comes in soon.

Insisting personal advancement is secondary to making the game better, however, Madden added: ‘For me, the biggest thing is the credibility of the league.

‘I mentioned at the end of last season that VAR is being used in countries like Malta and Georgia.

‘And if you are sitting at home flicking between English, Spanish and German football with VAR, then flick to Scottish football and you see a clear mistake where you think VAR will fix it and we don’t have it, that affects the credibility of the league.

‘We would start it immediately. Willie Collum and I are the only two currently trained, but there is a process where we need to look at resources, a training plan and build a project around that.

‘The sooner we start, the better for the refereeing movement. But I understand for the SFA and the SPFL, the big discussion is: “Who will pay for this?”

‘From talking to other referees around Europe, that can be anything from £3,000 to £5,000 for every game.

‘The first thing that has to happen is to establish the true cost for Scotland and take things from there.’

Scottish referees came in for unprecedented levels of scrutiny last season, with one supporter fined for making threats to John Beaton after an Old Firm game at Ibrox.

Speaking at an SFA media briefing on new IFAB laws for the forthcoming season, Madden insisted VAR could help with the abuse by making referees better, adding: ‘Scottish football has a lot of scrutiny. It is the number one sport and there is a lot of passion.

‘The product is improving with bigger attendances, more TV coverage. But we are no more passionate than countries like Turkey or Greece, who are going to introduce it.

‘Anything that can help take that little bit of stress away is going to improve the referee performances.

‘They talk about 97 per cent of decisions being correct, with VAR taking that to 99%.

‘It sounds like only a small percentages. But if there are clear and obvious errors, why would you not want to clear that up?’

New laws introduced by IFAB, including changes to the handball rules under Law 12, are likely to cause confusion at first.

‘Until people see things and have them explained to them, there will be that lack of understanding,’ added Madden.

‘However, I think all the laws being introduced this year are to the benefit of the game, so I think that’s what’s important to identify.’