Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou was again frustrated with the length of time it took for VAR to make decisions today after a number of delays at Celtic Park.
Those using the technology seemed to take an age to rule on pretty obvious onside or offside rulings for two goals, one for each side, while the decision to red card David Turnbull deep into injury time was also needlessly lengthy.
The manager was visibly annoyed on the touchline, shaking his head.
Asked about the sending off incident on BBC Radio Scotland today [15:12], Postecoglou said: “The incident – it’s hard for me to tell. I thought it was addressed at that point by the referee with a yellow card. You usually get a good reaction from the players on how serious or intentional it was. I don’t think it was intentional at all. It’s dealt with.
“Obviously, with VAR coming into the game other people are now looking at it and making decisions. The goalkeeper was getting treatment for a good three or four minutes. I don’t know why the referee couldn’t just go over and check the screen then rather than wait until the goalkeeper is up and running.”
The worst thing about this technology coming into Scottish football so far, beyond some bizarre decisions, has been the length of time it takes for calls to be made.
It’s deeply frustrating for fans attending matches, who don’t want to be standing about in the cold ignorant of what’s going on behind-the-scenes.
The SFA really need to quicken up their processes or perhaps start to experiment with better communication methods, as we see in other sports such as rugby or the NFL.
As for Turnbull, he is now facing a two-match suspension, which will kick in automatically ahead of matches against Hibernian and Rangers over the next week or so.
In other news, Ange Postecoglou explains class reason why he gave his jumper away at Celtic Park today.
Receive a digest of our best Celtic content each week direct to your mailbox
