The 5 Celtic and Rangers decisions VAR got wrong as Ibrox club warned after stormy ref request
VAR has come under increased scrutiny with Celtic and Rangers involved in wrong calls.
Crawford Allan, Scotland’s head of referees, addressed another VAR controversy and stated that Willie Collum
will be considered to officiate Celtic vs. Rangers games.
Since the most recent round of Premiership fixtures, the number of wrong calls made by the refereeing technician
has increased from three to thirteen. In five of those, Celtic and Rangers were involved. In one of those,
Collum used VAR to rule out a potential penalty kick during the Old Firm match in December,
even though slow motion replays revealed Alistair Johnston had touched the ball inside Celtic’s box.
Graphics demonstrated that the award would not have stood in either scenario because
Abdallah Sima had wandered offside following Collum’s intervention. However,
the Ibrox club remained incensed and asked that he not be allowed to officiate Rangers games going forward.
Crawford did not discount the possibility of throwing Collum into a Celtics versus. Rangers game in the future.
Additionally, he emphasized that no club will be able to control where a referee works.
“Willie will be in the frame for consideration for games, whether they be in the league, the cup, or anything else,
” he declared. When the time gets closer, we’ll decide on that.
“A club will never have any say in who gets appointed as a referee in Scotland.
It is my firm belief that the Scottish FA will select referees based on their qualifications, professionalism, and experience.
Referees will be chosen based on their qualifications and suitability. Any request from a club requesting that
a referee not be considered for their club positions is categorically rejected.
“We don’t want one referee to garner a lot of attention. The influence is felt by all of the referees,
regardless of the identity of the individual involved. We need to keep them all safe.
“A club in Tier 5 recently made a similar request, claiming that the referee failed to oversee their games. I believe they might have been following a trend.
The incorrect VAR decisions involving Celtic and Rangers
1. VAR should have recommended an on-field review after Rangers’ Ross McCausland was awarded a penalty.
Decision should then been no penalty (Livingston v Rangers, 12 Nov).
2. VAR should not have recommended an on-field review for a penalty after a foul on Rangers’ Abdallah Sima.
On-field decision of no penalty should have stood. (Rangers v Dundee, 9 Dec).
3. VAR should not have recommended an on-field review after Rangers’ Jose Cifuentes was awarded a yellow card.
On-field decision of yellow card should have stood. (Rangers v Dundee, 9 Dec).
4. VAR should have recommended an on-field penalty review for a handball offence by Celtic’s Alastair Johnston.
Panel noted an offside in the build-up so decision should have remained to not award penalty. (Celtic v Rangers, 30 Dec).
5. VAR should not have recommended an on-field review for a penalty for a handball offence against Rangers’ John Souttar.
On-field decision to not award a penalty should have stood. (Rangers v Kilmarnock, 2 Jan).
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