Kevin Clancy would love to see VAR introduced to Scottish football; recalls Celtic blunder

By John McGinley

April 20, 2020

Referee Kevin Clancy has been revisiting one of his major December derby calls this week, using it as an argument for the introduction of VAR into Scottish football, The Sunday Post report.

Clancy failed to spot that a Celtic goal against Rangers at Celtic Park in December deflected off the hand of Odsonne Edouard, admitting he got that one wrong.

He reckons had VAR been in use there’d have been a fair chance he’d have overturned the goal, which was ultimately meaningless in the defeat.

The Scottish FA official is now eagerly awaiting testing of the system in Scottish football, feeling it’d be a fantastic addition to the game, despite outcry about its use in the English Premier League.

As quoted by The Sunday Post, Clancy said: “Once any teething problems are ironed out and people get used to the protocols, then I think it will be a fantastic addition to the Scottish game.

“The referees are fully in support of the SFA looking into the implementation of VAR. It was great to hear that the Scottish Cup semi-finals had been identified, even on a trial basis.

“I think it would be great because it would give us the best chance possible of making the correct decisions in match. And I think it would be good for the profile of Scottish football.”

“You only need to look around at comparable leagues in Europe that have either implemented it or are on their way. It would assist our clubs our Europe.”

VAR was used in both legs of the Celtic vs Rosenborg tie / (Photo by Lars Ronbog / FrontZoneSport via Getty Images)

Clearly there are more pressing issues facing Scottish football right now than refereeing or VAR. Nobody even knows when football will return.

However, it seems inevitable that the technology will at least be tested here when things settle down and get back to normal.

Celtic have already experienced the system in a competitive environment against Rosenborg in the Europa League.

The way it’s being used in England has caused nothing but drama so, hopefully, when the SFA decide to implement here, we use it in a way more aligned with UEFA than the Premier League.