1 week Ago By [email protected] (Scott Burns)
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info Scottish Premiership clubs should get a reduction in their VAR bills if wrong calls are continually made against them.
As it stands, the top-flight teams along with the Scottish Football Association are picking up the cost for it being rolled out. Clubs are paying fees on a sliding scale with more being contributed the higher you finish up the league. The weekly fallout from controversial VAR decisions is hitting clubs in the pocket and on the park.
Yes, I get that VAR still has to be funded but would it not make sense for clubs to get a deduction on their fees for every mistake via the new technology? Maybe, it would mean the SFA have to pay extra but why should clubs pay the full price for something that just isn’t proving value for money? Motherwell are the latest club to feel aggrieved by VAR. They saw their defender Kofi Balmer sent off against Kilmarnock even though referee Matthew MacDermid let the challenge go and then VAR, needlessly, intervened. VAR recommended a red card review and Balmer was sent packing.
The Motherwell manager, Michael Wimmer, insisted their hopes of taking anything from Rugby Park ended when Balmer headed down the tunnel. Never mind, the SFA’s appeals panel have overturned Balmer’s red card. They claimed it shouldn’t even have been a yellow card, never mind an ordering off! I am sure there will also be the usual regular apology on the VAR review from referee chief Willie Collum.
That, however, is too little too late. The damage could already have been done. Motherwell are now playing catch-up in the fight for the final top six place.
Hearts are in pole position with St Mirren ahead of Motherwell. The Steelmen need to beat Hearts at home and hope the Buddies slip up against Ross County to complete their top six miracle. It is a long shot.
If Motherwell miss out on the top six then the old statement that things even themselves out over the season isn't going to wash. Yes, Motherwell might still have lost the game against Kilmarnock if Balmer had stayed on the park but they would certainly have given themselves a far better chance. VAR is clearly not popular with Scottish football fans and other influential figures in our game.
Clubs are paying for it but it is also costing them on the park. It was meant to be brought in for clear and obvious errors, but random calls and even head-scratching calls are now being made. The issue isn’t VAR but the people who are using it.
The standards need to be better. Get our best referees out on the grass. Put recently retired officials into the VAR booths.
Surely that would make a difference? Things certainly couldn’t get any worse! Alan Muir has lost his VAR role and others must now be looking over their shoulder. Nobody wants a witch-hunt over referees but what we want is VAR to be binned or at the very least, used properly!.
