The fallout of last weekend’s Glasgow Derby continues still as Bobby Madden shares how referees and VAR are graded after the Celtic controversy that surrounded the result.
Fabio Silva won Rangers a contentious penalty after the Portuguese appeared to have dived in the Celtic penalty box.
Referee, John Beaton was in no doubt about the Portuguese winger’s antics and immediately brandished a yellow card for simulation.
However, up stepped VAR and Beaton then reversed his decision to award Rangers a penalty and turn the tide of the game.
It was a decision that outraged Chris Sutton and the Celtic fans and it also saw the club fire off a letter to the SFA to demand answers to the controversial decision.
So what happens to match officials when huge errors like that appear to cost teams points? Do the SFA take action or does the national association just sit back and wait for the controversy to pass?
Bobby Madden shares how SFA marks their officials
Bobby Madden was no stranger to controversy whenever he took charge of a Glasgow Derby. We all remember the raft of decisions he appeared to get wrong in the Scottish Cup semi-final against Rangers in 2022.
However, it seems that the SFA do have a protocol in place is their match officials don’t follow the correct guidance.
Asked if match officials are graded after every game, Madden said [BBC Radio Scotland], “They are. If you make one mistake you’re not going to disappear out of the league for a fair time. If you have a major error, your appointments would be affected. It’s not made public.
“Your appointments are affected if you have a number of major errors you probably sit out the Premier League for a number of weeks.
“There’s no league tables as such so I would propose an introduction to that. I wouldn’t share it but I would have it.
“So VAR is marked a different way. They start on a seven and then they get a plus one or minus one depending on major errors made.
“For referees, there is a different scoring mechanism in terms of match control, decision making, personality and major decisions.
“So that can be weighted in a particular way that ensures that your best referees are on the best games and those referees who are under-performing don’t receive the better games and then at the end of the year there is a threat to their position, effectively.”
Madden’s comments raise more SFA questions for Celtic
Now this is very strange as it raises more questions about SFA and VAR after the Tynecastle horror show by Beaton and Don Robertson.
Robertson was given the Celtic fixture prior to Brendan Rodgers‘ disciplinary meeting prior to the Livingston fixture and then Beaton was handed the most recent Glasgow Derby. And we all know what happened there.
And I think it’s fair to say that the decisions in that game in the capital were major errors.
It’s been well over a month since the Tynecastle defeat and there is still nothing from Celtic or the SFA about that performance. There is also still nothing about Celtic demanding answers about the VAR footage although I think an update on both will be coming soon. Right?
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