Alistair Johnston is crystal clear on what he thinks about VAR after Celtic controversy

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Alistair Johnston has certainly been vocal about VAR today after witnessing it in action last weekend at Hearts.

The Celtic defender was critical of the decision to send off Hyunjun Yang after the South Korean was given his marching orders for a dubious red card.

The fallout from the controversy has now spilled over to Brendan Rodgers after the Celtic gaffer was cited by the SFA for his comments on VAR official, John Beaton.

And now, the Canadian international is in no doubt about what he wants to see happen with the refereeing technology after a week of the officiating aide dominating the headlines.

Alistair Johnston wants VAR to improve after Celtic drama

Johnston admits that he thinks VAR will stay as he believes the technology will be good for the game longer-term.

However, he does want to see it improve as he shares that sometimes he is left feeling frustrated at how the officials are using it to affect decisions in the game.

Johnston said [The Herald], “I think that is something we have struggled with a little bit here. It is still a new system for all of us, it has only been a couple of years now since it has been implemented and it is going to take some growing pains, we understand that. 

“It is not going to be perfect, but at the end of the day, VAR is probably better in the long term. They always spout stats off to us about many more correct decisions they get from it.

“As a defender, I find offsides, things like that which are black and white very helpful. But when you are freeze-framing every tackle things can be taken out of context and it can be frustrating.”

It does seem like VAR is here to stay and whilst the clubs in the Scottish Premiership are still unhappy with it, there is little to no chance that it will be scrapped.

Think about it. How bad would it look if we were one of, if not the only country within UEFA that didn’t have the technology at our disposal?

UEFA’s guidelines regarding the use of VAR are perfectly clear. If the referees in Scotland would just follow them the controversy won’t go away, but it will lessen the chances of referees making clear and obvious errors.