Rangers and Celtic involved in further VAR incidents as SFA consider use of specialists after controversial weekend

Former referee Dermot Gallagher has dissected a number of big VAR talking points involving Celtic and Rangers at the weekend - with several controversial calls sparking widespread frustration from Scottish Premiership clubs.

The Ibrox side ran out 4-2 winners over Motherwell at Fir Park, with January signing Todd Cantwell netting his first goal for the club before he was involved in a red card flashpoint with Callum Slattery that divided opinion during Sky Sports’ live coverage of the clash on Saturday lunchtime.

Slattery was given his marching orders with 14 minutes remaining having already been cautioned for a wild challenge on John Ludnstram in the first-half. There were also strong appeals for offside during a few of Rangers’ goals, which the Steelmen reportedly want to discuss at a meeting with the Scottish FA.

Meanwhile, Celtic’s 3-1 victory over Hibernian at Parkhead also featured a number of contentious decisions in a match which saw three penalties awarded and a red card. Firstly, centre-back Carl Starfelt was penalised following a VAR review for needlessly pulling an opponents jersey before his defensive partner Cameron Carter-Vickers was brought down inside the box after being held back by Paul Hanlon.

Hibs midfielder Elie Youan was also sent off by referee Steven McLean after just 24 minutes following a dubious second yellow card, while a penalty awarded for a collision between Hibs goalkeeper David Marshall and Hoops winger Liel Abada was rescinded upon review.

It marked a challenging weekend for officials and the Scottish FA are now understood to be considering using specialist video assistant referees as one of several options to improve the use of the technology in the top-flight.

VAR was introduced in Scotland back in late October. At present, part-time officials rotate between refereeing matches and working at the VAR controls at Clydesdale House in Glasgow. However, a specialist VAR would not be required to take charge of games, and is an option currently being explored by a number of European leagues amid ongoing problems with the use of the technology.

Speaking on Sky Sports Ref Watch segment, Gallagher provided his analysis of the weekend’s big talking points.

Asked for his thoughts on Kevin van Veen’s opening goal for Motherwell, he said: “Well you look at it. Look at the cut of the grass Rob, that is what gives it away. There is a defender at the top of the screen there and he is in the light patch. And I think that is who plays him on when you see the lines go across he just plays him on. The original cut of the grass, the defender was just inside the light cut.”

Discussing Fashion Sakala’s goal, Gallagher commented: “I think the optical illusion comes on this one. People look at the body shape but when you look it is the furthest point forward you can score with. The defender just plays him onside.”

Gallagher admitted that Motherwell midfielder Slattery was correctly dismissed for a foul on Cantwell, stating: “This may well have been an accumulation in fairness, Rob. He had a yellow card and committed another two or three fouls before this. I think the referee had probably just spoken to him before and said ‘look next one you’ve got to go.’”

On the decision to show Hibs star Elie Youan a red card for a high tackle, Gallagher stated: “This is a strange situation because (Cameron) Carter-Vickers goes to head the ball. He will say high boot. Is he entitled to put his boot that high? Some will say Carter-Vickers is leaning down but how high does a boot have to be?

“And don’t forget it wasn’t a red card, it was a second yellow. The referee said no, he said it is a high boot. That’s the difference. You need to block out that it was a red card. It was a second yellow. So it was a reckless challenge rather than a dangerous one.”

Deliberating over the penalty incident involving Starfelt and Hanlon, Gallagher added: “The (Carl) Starfelt one I have just caught out the side of my eye. He held his shirt too long.”

Growing concern over VAR

Scottish football’s governing body has publicly continued to defend the use of VAR technology since Chief Executive Officer Ian Maxwell stated it could up to three months to properly bed in.

However, concern is growing rapidly about a number of high-profile errors and the communication around how certain decisions are reached, with Dundee United now seeking to request an urgent meeting with SPFL member clubs and SFA representatives to hold wider conversations about the implementation technology.

While clubs are regularly updated with stats to prove the effectiveness of VAR, the Arabs are citing inconsistencies and a lack of clarity over certain calls as the main reason behind their decision to contact the SFA’s head of referee’s operations Crawford Allan.