...BUT ONSET OF VAR IS ONLY GOING TO LIGHT THE FUSE ON TENSIONS IN THE SCOTTISH GAME

FORMER Premier League referee Jeff Winter has delivered a scathing verdict on VAR’s effectiveness in England — and predicted a damaging impact on the enjoyment of Scottish top-flight football.

Winter contests that just over three years of the technology down south has created more problems than solutions. He accuses VAR of making working life more difficult — not easier, as was billed — for match officials.

His worst fears for VAR controversies routinely dominating post-match agendas in the English top league have come true. So he dreads to think what merry hell it could create when rolled out in the tribal environment of some of the Scottish game’s major grudge matches.

Brought in to ensure less mistakes and give referees greater resources to make the correct decisions in big moments, Winter insists VAR has long since overstepped the mark.

Winter (below) said: ‘VAR was sold to us on the basis it would be used to eradicate or correct clear and obvious errors, probably the most famous being Thierry Henry’s handball for France against Ireland.

‘But I’m afraid it’s turned into something else. For me, VAR wasn’t brought in to split hairs, but that’s what’s happening.

‘The offsides and handballs have become farcical. It is failing football for fans and players and, indeed, the match officials who are stuck in the middle. It has created more issues than it has cured.

‘VAR was meant to be accepted as being the final word. We all know that’s not been the case, with managers having a go at the decisions VAR is making.

‘There’s more TV time now spent analysing and criticising VAR decisions than we ever used to hear over refereeing decisions.

‘What’s happening in England on a weekly basis is coming north of the border, it’s inevitable. We’ve created more talking points and more aggravation.

‘If you add in Scotland being different in terms of animosity and tribalism, I expect VAR will cause much more controversy.

‘There are conspiracy theories when throw-ins are given in the wrong direction in Scotland.

‘Don’t get me wrong, there are rivalries in England. But fans of teams in Scotland hardly need another excuse to castigate the SFA and allege they favour certain clubs.

‘I don’t think the advent of VAR is going to make that go away. In fact, it will make it worse.’

Nine of Winter’s 25 years as a referee were spent at the top level before he bowed out at Wembley in the 2004 FA Cup Final won by Manchester United against Millwall.

Ultimately, his sympathy in the modern era rests with the matchday whistler and he claims to have seen confidence erode and performances suffer in the case of several elite referees.

‘I’ve sympathy for the referees because the rules of interpretation are changing overnight,’ he said. ‘I’m not surprised there’s a degree of uncertainty.

‘At times the referee looks like a rabbit in the headlights; stood out there waiting for someone to make a different decision to them. I don’t understand how that can help their credibility — and confidence.

‘Technology looks at incidents from several cameras and still people believe they’ve made the wrong decision. If the incident is that close and difficult that you’ve got to look at it from five different angles, then it’s NOT a clear and obvious error.

‘It’s made what was a difficult job into a very, very difficult job.

Football went on for

All we’ve done is create more talking points and lots of aggravation

many years with the man in the middle making those decisions. He didn’t get them all right but the percentage of them right was far higher than you’d ever imagine.’

The VAR era will commence in Scotland next weekend when half the division will have played 10 league fixtures and the other half 11. That the system has been introduced mid-season at all, says Winter, strikes him as going against the logic of fair play.

SFA chief executive Ian Maxwell’s comments of three ‘horrendous’ months of adjustment also fill Winter with worry.

‘With Scotland coming in late, you might think they would be in a position to learn from the mistakes made down south,’ he said. ‘Yet the comments coming out of the SFA don’t suggest that will be the case.

‘If we’re entering a period of uncertainty while they sort out the system, I don’t think it’s going to be helpful to the good of the game at all.

‘I don’t like the idea of bringing it in halfway through the season because it means you’re playing to different rules within the course of this season.

‘In terms of sporting integrity, that doesn’t seem right.’