Even VAR would not have saved Rangers from Old Firm defeat
Plenty of Rangers fans reckon that if Scotland had VAR their side would not be going into today’s St Mirren game looking to bounce back after an Old Firm derby defeat.
Television replays showed Connor Goldson clearly having his jersey pulled by Celtic defender Cameron Carter-vickers in the Hoops’ box in the second half but referee Willie Collum wanted nothing to do with it.
With Celtic supporters arguing their side should have had a spot-kick for an Allan Mcgregor trip on Daizen Maeda, there was only one thing they agreed upon – VAR can’t come to the Premiership soon enough.
The SPFL clubs are due to vote on the issue on Tuesday week, when it is expected to be given the green light.
Yet while former top Scottish official Charlie Richmond believes it is coming, he warns it might not be introduced into league action until the start of the 2023-24 campaign!
“Calls for VAR are flavour of the month right now, it is all we are hearing,” said Richmond.
“But while everyone is taking it as read that it will be adopted by the Premiership after the World Cup, my personal opinion is that will not be the case.
“I say that because I think those who are running the game would see a lot of potential issues in starting up a new system in the middle of the season.
“Effectively you would be looking at going from a trial in an Under16 game between Hearts and Hamilton to a senior match between the likes of St Johnstone and Motherwell.
“There is quite a lot of difference between the two, and remember you need to get our officials all trained up.
“What I would think is more likely is that instead it will be brought in stage by stage, with the first use coming in the 2022-23 cup showpieces.
“I am talking about maybe the semi-finals and Finals. “There is a good reason for this and it is that Hampden is really well set up for VAR, having had it for the Finals of the Euros last summer.
“The matches we are talking about are all going to be picked for live broadcast so you have the cameras in place anyway. Then it is just a case of hooking them up to the system.
“If you look back you will see this was the way they trialled linesmen and women behind the goals.
“As I say this is my own view. But I would think Rangers and Celtic fans who think VAR will be in place for their league derbies next season will be out of luck. Richmond, who spent 12 years as a Grade One official before quitting in 2012, is not convinced anyway that it will deliver what supporters believe it will.
“The thing about using video assistant referees is it is all about the criteria you set,” he said.
“For example, let’s assume you are going with the requirement for there to have been a clear and obvious error for a decision to be overturned.
“At Ibrox last week, Willie viewed that neither of the incidents involving Goldson and Maeda merited a penalty so to reverse it you have to be sure he was wrong.
“That it is harder than you might think, because it has to be about fact not opinion.
“OK, you can see there is a tug on Goldson’s jersey but did he pull Carter-vickers’ shirt first?
“Likewise, Allan Mcgregor might make some contact on Maeda when he comes out but is it enough to be a foul?
“These are opinion calls and in those cases they are unlikely to overrule the man in the middle.
“Of course it can be a big help and I do think it is coming but we need to make sure to get the set-up we put in place is the right one.”