Celtic have had some awful experiences with VAR ever since the implementation of the new technology in October 2022.
The video refereeing technology was meant to improve the refereeing in Scotland but Celtic quickly found VAR caused more problems than it solved in the initial early stages.
VAR has caused many controversies not just for Celtic but the whole of Scottish football and it appears now, that changes could be on the way.
The SFA Head of Referees, Willie Collum has shared that he has been speaking to Celtic and clubs across Scotland about improvements to refereeing and VAR.
And what has been discussed will intrigue Celtic fans.
Willie Collum reveals two big changes to refereeing Celtic have been in discussions about
One of the most frustrating parts of VAR is when fans in the stadium have no clue about what’s going on. All that could be about to change.
Goal-line technology is also being talked about and it seems that Celtic fans could see these changes in place sooner rather than later.
Collum told The Herald, “We’ve certainly been speaking to the clubs about other aspects of technology, goal-line technology being one of them.
“We’ve also been speaking to the clubs about in-stadium comms. The decisions are financial. We need the clubs to make those decisions.
“I would have open arms to any of these. We would certainly embrace them. But we won’t use a lack of something as an excuse for anything. We’ll do the best we can with the resources we have got.
“But would we embrace goal-line technology? Would we embrace stadium comms? Absolutely. We are closer. We’ve had good discussions with the clubs.
“Let’s take the in-stadium comms. When the referee goes to the monitor and can make an announcement you’re enhancing transparency even more. I’m about that, about even more people seeing.
“We’re also taking into account what clubs are saying and the in-stadium experience for fans. We want to support that as well.”
New changes to refereeing could be at Celtic Park in the ‘current season’
When asked how long it would take to implement these changes if approved, Collum said, “We would train the referees immediately.
“In England, they trained the referees and it’s not as simple as people think, going to the monitor and making an announcement. You’ve got to get the wording right, sell decisions. But we would move fast with that.
“If we get a green light for that, we would introduce it within a season even. I don’t mean within a season meaning next season, I mean we would be happy to introduce it in a current season.”
The most exciting improvement here would be the in-stadium comms. Having the referee explain a VAR decision in front of 60,000 Celtic supporters in Parkhead will certainly help reduce frustrations with the fans.
Any improvements to refereeing standards will be welcomed by Celtic supporters as long as it improves the in-game decisions and helps refs get to the correct one.
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