It has been confirmed that Willie Collum will be the man in the middle of Celtic’s Scottish Premiership clash against Livingston on Sunday [SFA].
The experienced whistler will be joined by assistants Graeme Stewart and Daniel McFarlane, with Matthew MacDermid being the fourth official at the Tony Macaroni Stadium.
Of course, last weekend, Scottish Football supporters were given their first glimpse of VAR in this country, and all clubs are getting set for their 2nd involvement with the new technology this weekend.
The man in charge of VAR at the Video Operations room in Clydesdale House will be Alan Muir, who is working alongside assistant Frank Connor.
As Celtic fans will be well aware, there was plenty of controversy surrounding the technologies introduction last week, with many talking points coming out from the Hoops’ 4-3 win over Hearts.
Collum also took charge of his first game with VAR last week, as the 43-year-old became the first referee in this country to use the new system, overseeing St Johnstone’s victory against Hibernian at Easter Road.
Over the years, we have become accustomed to Collum being the man in charge of several high-profile Celtic games, including Glasgow derbies and Hampden cup fixtures.
However, this weekend’s visit to Livingston will be just his second game refereeing Ange Postecoglou’s side this season and his first in the league.
His only previous outing this campaign came during the Bhoys’ emphatic 4-1 victory over Ross County in Dingwall as we secured our place in the quarter-finals of the Premier Sports Cup.
Ange Postecoglou will be hoping for little controversy; but as we’ve learned in Scottish Football, that is unlikely.
After a weekend filled with attention and questioning on refereeing decisions, Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou will be hoping for as little controversy as possible this weekend.
However, as we have come to expect, that seems like a pretty impossible task for Scottish Football and our officials.
There have been plenty of talking points arising from Celtic games Collum has taken charge of in recent years.
And it would come as no surprise to see that happen again on Sunday.
The talk of VAR and refereeing is already becoming so tedious. So, here’s hoping the Bhoys can put on a show with their performance, and we don’t have to spend another few days in the aftermath of this weekend talking about more controversy.
In other news, Former Celtic hero takes up behind-the-scenes role following retirement.
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