For the second consecutive round of SPFL Premiership fixtures, Alan Muir will not be assigned to VAR duties.
On Saturday, he was at the center of controversy after disallowing a ‘goal’ scored by Daizen Maeda, which had initially been awarded by referee Steven McLean and his assistant David Roome.
Following a brief review, the goal was ruled out on the grounds that Alistair Johnston had played the ball back from over the bye-line. Premier Sports were unable to provide any visual evidence to support the decision.
Speaking after the match, The Sun reported Brendan Rodgers as saying:
“My take is that the official Alan Muir has had a guess at it. The linesman arguably has the best view in the stadium and he doesn’t give it. So for that to get overturned I am assuming there is an absolute clear image of the ball being out of play.
“In my experience up here with VAR, you don’t have all the angles and they don’t have the equipment to say it was conclusively out. So you are actually viewing it from a secondary position and at that point you are then having a guess. That is the huge disappointment.”
More than two days later, no image has emerged to justify the decision, and Head of Refereeing Willie Collum has yet to make any public comment.
The SFA delayed until Monday morning before announcing the officials for six midweek matches, with Muir notably excluded from the list.
This weekend, Andrew Dallas will take charge of VAR duties for two matches: Celtic v St Mirren on Saturday and Aberdeen v Dundee United on Sunday. Muir, one of three full-time VAR officials, has not been selected for any of the six fixtures.
Over the weekend, Nick Walsh, Kevin Clancy, Gavin Duncan, and John Beaton will handle VAR responsibilities. This creates a knock-on effect within the refereeing pool, leaving it short-handed as others step up to cover for Muir’s absence.
The following weekend features four televised Scottish Cup ties, leaving Collum with a decision to make: whether to reinstate Muir or delay his return following the contentious decision to disallow Maeda’s ‘goal’ against Hibs.
