Former referee Des Roache has called for significant changes to how VAR is operated in Scottish football ahead of the next Premiership season.
Roache, a former SFA official, has pointed to a series of controversial decisions in the closing weeks of the campaign as evidence that reform is urgently needed.
The most contentious moment came when Motherwell midfielder Sam Nicholson was judged to have handled the ball in the dying seconds of a 2-2 draw with Celtic at Fir Park.
VAR operator Andrew Dallas flagged the incident to referee John Beaton, who consulted the pitchside monitor before pointing to the spot.
Kelechi Iheanacho converted the penalty to hand Celtic all three points in a result that would prove pivotal to the destination of the title.
Had the game finished level, Celtic would have required a victory by three goals in their final match to secure the championship.
As it turned out, Celtic needed only to beat Hearts on the final day, with Martin O’Neill’s side securing a 3-1 victory to claim the Scottish Premiership title.
The SFA’s KMI panel subsequently ruled the handball decision at Fir Park to be incorrect, while Hampden referee supremo Willie Collum publicly defended the call.
Roache highlighted a separate incident from Celtic’s final league game against Hearts as an example of VAR functioning correctly, telling the Sunday Post: “I don’t think that VAR is the problem, the issue is the people who are operating it, and how they’re being coached and educated to use it.”
He continued: “We’ve seen in Celtic’s last league game against Hearts with the offside decision, assistant Dave Roome got it wrong, but match official Don Robertson called it right. Technology works. It’s how you’re being coached and applied to use it.”
Despite praising that specific instance, Roache was highly critical of the broader infrastructure surrounding VAR in Scotland and the standards being applied.
He stated: “We have VAR-lite. We do not have the correct process and the correct technology that everybody can see. I don’t think the same processes are applied here as in England.”
Roache was clear about what changes he wants to see implemented before the new season gets underway in the coming months.
He said: “What I would like to see is that VAR solely get involved in clear and obvious errors and doesn’t step inside a referee’s opinion, because the referee is the sole arbiter in the game, they’re the ones who are there on the pitch.”
He added: “They should be making their own decisions, and it shouldn’t be overturned unless it’s glaringly obvious.”
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