RODGERS RECKONS REFS NEED VAR HELP

Celtic boss says Scottish game could do with video assistance for officials

CELTIC manager Brendan Rodgers believes that the introduction of VAR would ease the pressure on referees without eradicating the element of drama within the game.

Speaking in a week in which referee Andrew Dallas and Steven McLean have both come under fire for their performances at Hampden in the Betfred Cup final and at Ibrox as Aberdeen had

S a m Cosgrove wrongly sent off, Rodgers has called for as much help as possible to officials.

And the Celtic manager also maintained that referees have to be allowed to make mistakes without a witchhunt in order that they develop and improve, albeit he did insist that they had “not helped themselves” with some decisions.

“If you constantly criticise … you have to find ways to help referees and they can probably help themselves sometimes because there

have been some decisions where you think, hmm, I’m not sure there,” said Rodgers. “But it is going to happen. You need constant education to help them understand the game better and help in any which we can.

“I’m sure [VAR] would help. If it helps then make a decision that is clear then surely that helps them and helps the game as opposed to they have made a blatant mistake and they have to live with it and are heavily criticised.

“We have to allow mistakes to be made. I make them as a manager and sometimes you have to take it, but it helps you grow. There is an argument for that. The problem can be sometimes that it gives debate, absolutely, but people lose their jobs on it and it is people’s livelihoods.

“Football is an incredible game and that for me is a big part of it – talking football, football gossip, that is where you want to be, talking football more so than poor decisions but it is a part of the game. If it helps referees in certain situations then it has to be of benefit without being totally everything technological.”