Improving VAR the priority as SFA seek new referees’ chief
THE SFA admit that improving the use of VAR will be a top priority when they appoint a new head of refereeing. Crawford Allan is to step down from the position at the end of the season after a vote of no confidence from SPFL clubs. The governing body have now started their recruitment process and are accepting applications for the role, with Allan’s successor ideally in place for the start of next season. In the job description, the SFA have stressed the need for an experienced operator who can enhance the use of VAR in Scottish football. The technology features heavily throughout, with Hampden chiefs also keen to ensure the new head of refereeing is comfortable engaging with the media.
The SFA say Allan’s replacement ‘will be a crucial public spokesperson and advocate for refereeing, forging relationships with key football stakeholders, especially in the evolution and optimisation of VAR in Scottish football’. They will be expected to have experience in the use of VAR either as a match official or in an operational capacity, and to ‘continually review and improve the processes and implementation of VAR and its use in a Scottish context’. Since its introduction to Scottish football in October 2022, VAR has been widely criticised.
Last week, Aberdeen became the first major Scottish club to threaten to remove their financial support. Furious that a Bojan Miovski goal had been disallowed against Livingston, the Pittodrie club claimed officials had used guesswork to come to their decision after it emerged the technology had failed. When Allan announced his intention to step down last month, SFA chief executive Ian Maxwell admitted that ‘VAR processes need to improve’. Maxwell urged all parties to ‘work together to alleviate unsustainable pressure on match officials and VAR operators’. There had been some suggestions that the SFA might look to split the position into two roles, one head of refereeing and one head of VAR. But that now seems highly unlikely, given the clear focus on VAR that features throughout the job description. Meanwhile, Don Robertson has been named as referee for Celtic’s Scottish Cup semi-final against Aberdeen at Hampden on Saturday. Robertson was branded ‘incompetent’ by Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers following a controversial defeat to Hearts at Tynecastle last month. Rodgers was duly hit with a one-match touchline ban, but later insisted he had no regrets about his comments. Steven McLean will referee the other semi-final between Rangers and Hearts on Sunday.