SFA head of referees Willie Collum has admitted that the use of VAR was flawed in a key decision during Celtic’s opening match of the Scottish Premiership season.
The incident in question came as Brendan Rodgers’ side secured a 4-0 victory over Kilmarnock, but there was controversy when goalkeeper Robby McCrorie collided with Celtic striker Kyogo Furuhashi as the latter attempted to control a lofted ball into the box.
Despite the collision, referee Don Robertson waved play on, and VAR official Craig Napier supported the on-field decision.
However, speaking to the SFA’s VAR Review, Collum has now conceded that the officials got it wrong on this occasion. “We believe this is the wrong decision,” he admitted.
“We have coached the referees and the VARs that a penalty should have been awarded here. There are a couple of things I would like to discuss about the clip. Firstly, it is an unexpected free-kick with the way the ball is chipped over the wall and it catches the on-field referee by surprise.
“It is then very difficult for the referee to find an angle around that wall to get a view of the incident, because the referee’s priority is that if there is a shot there is potential for handball in the wall. So, he has positioned himself correctly to judge that, and it then becomes a very difficult decision for him to make on-field.
“The Celtic player clearly gets ahead, wins the ball, touches the ball past the goalkeeper and we then think the goalkeeper’s actions are reckless. So for us, this should have been a penalty kick and an on-field review should have been requested, with the referee then asked to make a judgement on the call.”
This wasn’t the only decision that the refereeing chief acknowledged as a mistake. Collum also admitted that Dundee’s Luke Graham should have been penalised for a handball in their 2-2 draw against Dundee United.
“For us, this was a missed handball, a punishable handball,” Collum explained. “The cross comes from a distance, and the proximity doesn’t come in here. The Dundee player, when he comes in, in our opinion, is in an unnatural position.”
However, Collum was also keen to clarify certain other contentious decisions, standing by the officials’ rulings. For example, Kilmarnock’s Danny Armstrong was booked for simulation after going down on the edge of the box against St Johnstone.
Collum conceded that the yellow card was “incorrect,” but added that the VAR could not intervene because the incident occurred outside the penalty area.
While mistakes were acknowledged, Collum also backed other decisions. He confirmed that Kilmarnock’s Brad Lyons deserved his red card for a challenge against Aberdeen.
Meanwhile, Hibernian’s Marvin Ekpiteta was cleared of any wrongdoing after a tackle on Celtic’s James Forrest at Celtic Park, which prompted calls for a penalty. On this occasion, both the on-field referee and VAR were in agreement that the correct decision was made.
Collum’s comments reflect a mixed start to the season for Scottish referees and VAR teams, with some errors but also many decisions being upheld.
His openness in addressing mistakes while defending correct calls illustrates the complexities of officiating in the modern game, where the pressure to get decisions right is higher than ever with the added scrutiny of VAR.