The Scottish Premiership will introduce VAR in December after failing to heed the many warnings of its unpopular and bungled usage in England.
The news that VAR will be introduced into the Scottish top flight in December, after the World Cup, was very disappointing to say the least. The same system that has put a coitus interruptus into the Premier League will be applied to the 12 Premiership clubs. England’s second, third and fourth tiers, previously a haven of VAR-free football, should be worried. Scotland’s top flight bringing it in, with most of its teams playing in grounds of under 20,000 capacity and some under 10,000, could set a precedent for England, not least because the cost is being borne on a proportionate scale: the biggest (Celtic and Rangers) pay a lot more than the smallest (Ross County). Again, this sets a precedent.
While VAR seems to have been accepted in the Premier League – or should I say tolerated – I doubt many fans would think it a bad thing if it was abolished. There is little to no love for it. The principles of how it is used seem to change all the time, often contradicting what it has declared as its purpose, as it ponders for three minutes over something that is not a clear and obvious error, as it would be clear and obvious if it was.
In Scotland we could point to our game as free from the blight of VAR. In England, too many fans are too obsessed with the officials being biased against them and this has driven a belief that VAR will end such paranoia. It won’t. I mean, obviously, it won’t. We know that from the Premier League.
Gerrard calls for VAR in Scotland after controversial final
You know what’ll happen. When a VAR decision is made, the VAR will be accused by the same fans of being biased, just as the referee currently is. All it does is farm out the paranoia.
There is a widespread dissatisfaction with Scottish referees and there has been for decades. It has been said that they are simply not good enough and…
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