Are early concerns over VAR justified?

ROSS County’s performance on Saturday against Celtic was the best of all the Scottish teams who have visited Parkhead this season.

They were very wellorganised and, even under intense pressure, kept a good shape. On the few occasions they attacked they did so with purpose and caused the Hoops defence some problems. In normal circumstances if they’d escaped with a point I’d have had no major complaints.

Yet because of the way this game was refereed there was little that was normal about it and so the Staggies’ excellent display will be forever overshadowed.

A series of bizarre decisions by the referee David Munro, which bordered on the absurd, meant that a good and competitive game of football was spoiled as a spectacle.

Inevitably, the decision to award a penalty after the ball made contact with Matt O’Riley attracted the most scrutiny. It seemed debatable if this incident occurred inside the penalty area but, even if it had, it continued a confusing trend in recent weeks where it seems if you strike a ball towards the Parkhead side’s penalty area you stand a decent chance of getting a spot- kick.

On the other hand, a similar incident that might have benefited Celtic at Tynecastle two weeks ago was ignored.

On Saturday, a cross by Anthony Ralston in the second half which struck a County defender’s arm seemed a clearer- cut incident – although I still wouldn’t have been entirely convinced that this was a penalty either.

This, though, wasn’t the strangest incident. That occurred during the first half when the Staggies goalkeeper handled the ball inside his box twice without it touching another player as he realised that Kyogo was far closer to him than he’d thought.

It was a clear breach and an indirect free- kick ought to have been awarded inside the box. The referee seemed confused about this rule and so settled for the safe option: free- kick to the Staggies.

Earlier, an excellent tackle by O’Riley when he cleanly dispossessed his opponent – just as he’d done at Motherwell during the week was penalised just as Celtic broke forward in numbers.

Speaking of Motherwell... the VAR camera that would have focused on Jota’s offside goal at Fir Park was trained on the dugout. Really?

So all through Kyogo’s little pirouettes away from two defenders, his one- two with David Turnbull, his long, raking pass to Jota and the Portuguese winger’s run and finish this camera was purely focused on the touchline?

We were also told that the VAR officials were convinced from the angles they were given that the goal was offside. Yet the only angle made available seems to show Jota onside. Where are these other pictures?

What confuses me much more than phantom offsides or the way that the rules have been applied for handball in the penalty area is the catalogue of brutal challenges that seem to be going unpunished.

The kick in the ribs that Giorgos Giakoumakis suffered against Dundee United two weeks ago and a quite shocking assault on Carl Starfelt at Fir Park are the two most recent incidents.

It could be argued this has become a pattern over the last few seasons – the opposition try potluck against Celtic players knowing that the rules about serious foul play often don’t seem to apply in the SPFL.

Yet when any supporters voice displeasure about these decisions since VAR was introduced they are dismissed as ‘ moon- howlers’.

There are, though, entirely reasonable grounds for distrust, gathered over many years.

The “Dougie, Dougie” incident from Tannadice in 2010 when a linesman admitted collusion with the match referee to lie to Neil Lennon about why a penalty was overturned.

Lennon’s ban for a touchline spat with Ally McCoist, which seemed much more draconian than the Rangers manager’s own suspension [ Lennon received a four- match ban, McCoist two].

And, of course, the resignation of Jim Farry, president of the Scottish FA, in 1996 for deliberately holding up the registration of Jorge Cadete.

As a Celtic fan, I still cling to the belief that there is no conspiracy here. If I were to start believing that then what would be the point of turning up and paying decent money for a season ticket?

And besides, as O’Riley said after Saturday’s game, thus far these decisions against the Hoops haven’t derailed their progress towards another title.

But, please, don’t dismiss the support’s concerns as paranoia or ‘ moon- howling’. They have been here before. Their concerns on various occasions have been proven to be real.

I’m happy simply to accept them as mistakes but they’ve sure been piling up in these early VAR days.