JJ: VAR TAKES SO MUCH OUT OF OUR GAME
JIM JEFFERIES racked up almost 800 matches as a top-flight manager and was no stranger to the SFA’s disciplinary hearings when it came to falling foul of referees.
Now 71, he ended 29 years in the dugout with Dunfermline in 2012 and admits he’s glad he didn’t hang around long enough to experience VAR.
Jefferies said: “The system isn’t great and the people who are working it aren’t great either. When VAR was brought in there wasn’t enough money invested in it. They clearly need more cameras and angles to review incidents from if they’re going to do it properly.
“Everyone in the game was told VAR would only become involved in the case of clear and obvious errors but that’s not been the case, not by a long shot.
“When it comes to the likes of Fashion Sakala being onside or offside at Rangers’ third goal against Motherwell on Saturday it was just guesswork really.
“I was at Tannadice a few months back when Dundee United’s Tony Watt challenged Motherwell’s Sean Goss. The referee, John Beaton, was two or three yards away and didn’t even give a foul.
“Then he hears a voice telling him to look at it again. David Munro was the VAR ref who suggested John had got it wrong and after watching replays on the monitor he changed his mind and sent Tony off.
“United went on to lose 1-0 and although their appeal against the red card was successful, they still lost the game after playing with 10 men for 50 minutes.
“You wonder at times whether the officials in the studio are possibly trying to justify their existence but they’re making a nonsense of officiating and it takes far too long for decisions to be reached.
“They’re supposed to help the refs on the pitch but they’re constantly questioning them and putting doubts in their minds. They interfere far too often and that prevents the man on the ground from running the game properly.”
Jefferies argues that the interminable delays caused by VAR are sucking the life out of the sport.
He added: “I’m glad I didn’t have to deal with VAR in my day because it takes a lot out of the game.
“The delays are farcical. They should be able to tell whether something is right or wrong after one or two replays, not half a dozen.
“For me, the men in the studio should only intervene if the ref on the pitch asks for help – they’re well paid and experienced enough to do the job themselves and if they make a mistake that’s just part and parcel of football.
“As it is, VAR has caused more mayhem than we had before and they still can’t get offside calls correct. One thing’s certain, until they get the right people in the studio there are going to be more issues. We already had the match ref, two assistants and a fourth official – how many people do they need to run a match anyway?”