How VAR works should be clear and obvious by now
Del concerned system still uncertain after 18 months
DEREK McINNES reckons problems with VAR have still not been solved 18 months after it was introduced into Scottish football.
And the Kilmarnock boss feels there remains an inconsistency in the decision-making process.
Another controversial weekend for VAR left McInnes dismayed by Lewis Mayo’s red card at Dundee and the fact ref Colin Steven wasn’t asked to review his decision by VAR Greg Aitken.
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers branded officials “incompetent” after their 2-0 defeat to Hearts.
And McInnes said: “You still see a lot up for debate, even in the English Premier League which has had it a lot longer than us.
“I still think the same offence you see in different weeks isn’t being punished the same way.
“We’re just looking for consistency. It’s unfair to say managers hide behind VAR and blame it and referees for decisions.
“We’re all in this together to try to reach the correct decisions more often than not. We’ve all invested in a tool to try to assist the referees, to try to help get to better decisions.
“Other than the offside, I think we’re still having
so many more challenges. By this stage we should be far more clear on criteria, what should merit red and yellow cards, when VAR should interfere and when they shouldn’t, when we should re-referee the game and when we should give the referee more autonomy.
“It changes from week to week and I don’t think there are clear messages being put out there.
“Before a red card referees should be asked to see that again, especially if they’re not sure. Goals, penalties, why not have a look? It takes 30 seconds and if the referee is then a bit more certain in his decision, good on him and he’ll live by his decision. “Speaking to a couple of
managers over the weekend, there’s uncertainty and a nervousness about a lot of these decisions.
“I’d like to see our better referees on the pitch more. I’ve always been big on that. I don’t think we have the benefit or luxury of having an abundance of top referees.
“Because of VAR we’re accelerating a lot of younger referees into a position when more senior referees should be the ones on the pitch.”
McInnes knows the decisions of officials have always had an impact on the race for the title or league positions, even before VAR.
He said: “There’s a lot of pressure on referees and everybody in football.
“Coming towards the end of the season we’ve got a responsibility not to heap too much pressure on anybody.
“A lot of these decisions that happen early in the season, most people move on from them pretty quickly. At this stage of the season it becomes even more serious and prevalent that we get decisions right.”