VAR introduction ‘imminent’ in Scottish Premiership as former referees adamant technology will be in place before World Cup

The introduction of VAR in Scottish football is believed to be “imminent” with the video technology set to be in place in the Premiership before the FIFA World Cup this November.

Two former category 1 referees Stevie Conroy and Des Roache claim that after a successful trial period, it is ready to go and will be rolled out within a matter of weeks.

Scottish FA head of refereeing Crawford Allan confirmed at an AGM in the summer that plans were in place to fast-track the technology, with chief executive Ian Maxwell admitting he wanted it in place as soon as possible.

It was originally thought VAR in Scotland would NOT be given the green light until the conclusion of football’s global showpiece in mid-December but it now seems likely it will introduced much earlier than expected.

Speaking on the Get Involved Referee podcast, Conroy said: “The word is that it is imminent. It has been trialled all season and by all accounts they are good to go.

“The latest fitness test for refs was on Sunday and there were meetings after that - so it might be more imminent than we think.

“I still think it should have been the start of the season or the start of next, but I think FIFA were in control of the training.

“The SFA are a spectacularly secretive organisation so saying nothing in public is nothing new but they have probably been a bit hindered by FIFA.

“However, why not be open about all the trialling? You would assume they will give us some notice - the clubs need to know more than we do.”

Roache added: “They have been dry-running it which is the correct thing to do and if it’s ready why wait untl after the World Cup? Let’s go now.

“It’s not often we say well done the SFA but if everything is in place now that’s good. But I agree, just tell us that they’re training their people and what date they are working towards.”

A number of big decisions have already been missed by referee in the English Premier League this season, which have been rectified by VAR.

Former match official Conroy hopes there will not be any major issues north of the border but fears there will be.

He admitted: “One thing is for sure there will be mistakes here. They’ve had it in England for over three years and it’s still causing arguments but I don’t think that’s VAR, I think it’s the interpretation of it.

“I just hope there is only an intervention for the big decisions in games and that we learn from the mistakes of others.”