Five months in, we’re stuck with VAR but it has to improve
Several managers were left angry and frustrated by VAR decisions last weekend.
Derek McInnes, Jim Goodwin and Lee Johnson all felt blatantly wrong decisions went against their teams, and I can totally see where they are coming from.
It’s now been in the Scottish game since last October, and we knew there would be teething problems.
But five months down the line, VAR really needs to be better.
Apart from anything else, the length of time it’s taking to reach a decision is totally unacceptable.
There is no way it should take three or four minutes for the VAR official to make up his mind. We need to quickly get to a place where the on-field referee is making all the key decisions.
VAR is there to guide him. The people in the technical hub at Clydesdale House should not be calling the shots.
They need to refer the match referee to the pitchside monitor to let him decide. And if he happens to overrule VAR, then so be it. Get on with it.
The technology should also play a role when a team is facing having a player sent off for a second yellow card.
Last Saturday, Motherwell’s Callum Slattery was given his marching orders against Rangers after the referee, Nick Walsh, deemed his arm had made contact with Todd Cantwell’s face.
I didn’t agree with the yellow for that. Surely VAR should have been used to prevent Motherwell being reduced to 10 men unfairly?
So there are still so many ways for VAR to improve.
However, I would definitely stick with it. We need to ride through the storm and believe it will see more decisions being right than wrong.
The technology is there to assist, but it should ultimately come down to a human being making the call.
We can still disagree with the decisions that are ultimately made with the evidence provided.
But that’s called opinion, the one thing that has always been part of football.