Scottish FA could vote on greater VAR influence despite Celtic and Rangers penalty fallout

Both Glasgow giants Celtic and Rangers benefited from controversial VAR rulings in the Scottish Premiership last weekend with the top two salvaging points against Motherwell and Aberdeen respectively thanks to spot kicks.

The Hoops were awarded two penalties against Motherwell. Luis Palma missed one in the second half after a unique, angled run-up, before David Turnbull netted from the spot four minutes before the 90 - although a 90th minute Jon Obika header saw the spoils shared.

Meanwhile, VAR intervened in the dying moments of Ranger's meeting with Aberdeen to penalise Stefan Gartenmann for a shirt pull on Connor Goldson as James Tavernier ensured his side took a point back to Ibrox.

With the flurry of penalties and VAR drama, many fans of Scottish football have been left spitting feathers as to the influence of the video assistant on the beautiful game. However, the system isn't going anyway and, if anything, may strengthen its grip on the sport depending on crunch talks.

FIFA have scheduled discussions to increase the power of VAR to intervene on decisions such as corners, free-kicks and yellow cards, as well as its current remit. The Times reports that a working group has been established to see if VAR should be given an even greater say, although no formal decision would be made until March at the earliest.

FA Chief Executive Mark Bullingham had acknowledged the inevitable talks last month but hinted at fears that even more VAR influences could ruin the flow of football matches. He said: “I know that is something we will discuss in the Ifab. We would be really reluctant to have a game that was stopped a lot more than it currently is but that will be a proper discussion.”

FIFA is spearheading the talks, but any changes to VAR protocols would have to be approved by IFAB. The IFAB group is made up of the four British FAs, including the SFA, who would vote on any proposed plans. Each FA has a single vote, with FIFA given four, and a total of six votes are needed to approve any changes.