VAR howlers that cost Buddies

defender James Bolton was given a straight red card for a challenge on Dundee’s Owen Dodgson in his side’s 2-0 win at the SMiSA Stadium.

Referee Steven McLean was sent to the monitor for a second look – which the panel said was correct – but he stuck with his original on-field decision.

The panel said the incident should have been downgraded to a booking. Bolton, already cautioned, would still have been sent-off but only banned for one game rather than the two he was handed for serious foul play.

It was a costly suspension because the 29-year-old automatically missed the 2-0 defeat to Celtic in the fifth round of the Scottish Cup as well as the 1-0 reverse at Livingston which he was going to be banned for anyway. Saints’most high-profile VAR incident came three weeks later on February 27 in the 1-1 draw with Ross County in Dingwall – a match which was screened live on Sky Sports. Staggies defender Ryan Leak handled a free-kick into the box when under pressure from Bolton. Referee Chris Graham did not award a penalty and VAR did not intervene.

The panel say a review should have been ordered and a spot-kick given.

SFA referees’chiefs quickly conceded in the following days that a major mistake had been made regarding the incident.

Finally, on April 6, Northern Irish winger Conor McMenamin was fouled in the area by Hearts’Aidan Denholm during the Jambos’2-1 victory in Paisley but nothing awarded.

Referee Alan Muir was sent by VAR to the monitor

– the panel deemed correctly – but he should have awarded a penalty rather than stick with his original call.

The panel say there have been 1,181 VAR reviews carried out with the majority of them silent checks.

A total of 76 have resulted in on-field reviews while another 36 have been factual overturns for issues like offside or inside/outside the box. As a result of those interventions, a rate of 90.3 per cent correct decisions made by on-field officials has risen to to 97.8 per cent.