The SFA has acknowledged that Celtic should have received penalties that Greg Aitken and Alan Muir “missed” at
home against Kilmarnock and away against Motherwell thus far this season.
The only evidence supplied to support an offside call on a “goal” from Kyogo Furuhashi in the September Glasgow
Derby, where just two squiggly lines have been offered thus far, is that red card situations are also missed on a nearly
match-by-match basis.
Brendan Rodgers criticized John Beaton’s ineptitude at Tynecastle in March, but Michael Nicholson believes VAR is
doing a fantastic job.
With Martin Atkinson serving as VAR Manager, teams are also covering the full-time salaries of Andrew Dallas,
Aitken, and Muir in addition to the VAR technology.
To the amazement of no one watching Scottish football, no referees have gone near a major UEFA or FIFA
competition since Collum got two matches at Euro 2016 before being cut at the first cut. The mistakes that keep
happening can only be attributed to training or cultural issues.
The sensationalized part about clubs fighting the SFA is always there. In reality, what does that mean? A club will call
Willie and discuss the whats and whys with him if they are dissatisfied with any refereeing decision. Sometimes their
unhappiness is justified, and other times it is not. After that, it’s finished. There is no protracted discussion about it,
and there is no conflict.
It is inevitable that decisions will be incorrect. We’ll get rid of them as much as we can. In the great majority of
instances, VAR has done that.
There will always be one or two disagreements with that since there are humans involved, and in any situation with
people from any background, decisions will be made that are either incorrect or don’t turn out the way we want them
to. That is simply a feature of human nature.
Right now, we are discussing a single choice. For the first time this season, someone has questioned Mike (Mulraney,
SFA President and Alloa Chairman) or me on VAR rulings. Last year at this time, it happened every week. Therefore,
there has undoubtedly been progress. Both the referees’ on-field performances and transparency have improved.
We’re not talking about a single decision right now. That comment validates the tune Maxwell dances to. Later today,
when Collum releases a whitewash on Beaton and Muir’s performances at the League Cup, we’ll find out about
transparency. Will the head of refereeing explain why Leon Balogun didn’t receive a second yellow card, why Jefte’s
snap into Nicolas Kuhn’s heel wasn’t a red card offense, or why Robin Propper went unpunished for assaulting
Kyogo Furuhashi before obstructing Cameron Carter-Vickers at Phil Clement’s team’s second goal? While he’s at it,
we can hear why Callum McGregor had to retake a free kick that sent Daizen Maeda running free on goal early in
extra time.
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