VAR is the bane of not just Celtic supporters, but the whole of Scottish football.
Not a week went by in the Scottish Premiership last season where the video refereeing caused controversy at Celtic and other teams in the league.
VAR was introduced in October 2022, and at Hearts, Celtic immediately fell foul of a bizarre mistake that cost Ange Postecoglou’s side a penalty.
Admittedly, improvements have been made almost three years on but SFA chief executive Ian Maxwell has made a claim about the video referee Celtic fans will have a hard time getting on board with.
- READ MORE: Joe Hart tells Martin O’Neill why he ‘loved’ ex-Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou at Celtic
Ian Maxwell says ‘VAR is absolutely working’ despite shocking Celtic errors
Celtic fans have seen a multitude of VAR errors over the last three years and even last season, there were plenty of high-profile errors that cost Brendan Rodgers.
So when Maxwell said that ‘VAR is absolutely working’ many Celtic fans will shake their heads at that statement.
Maxwell told The Scottish Football Podcast, “I think there’s two sides to the debate. From a getting decisions right perspective, VAR is absolutely working and doing what it should. We’re getting more decisions right than we’ve ever done.
“And I think people forget what it was like pre-VAR. I think people get a bit fuzzy eyed and you remember years going by in a slightly different vein from when you were back there and refereeing was arguably worse in terms of this, or not arguably, definitely worse in terms of getting decisions right.
“I think the bit that I have some agreement with is about the in-stadium atmosphere and how do we improve that?
“What can we do to bring that understanding of what’s going on in a stadium alive? How do we improve that experience so that fans know when there’s a VAR check, they know instantly what’s happening and there’s a lot of technology that needs to come together to do that. FIFA are always looking, they’re trialling new things at the Club World Cup in terms of in-stadium communications and we’ll see where that goes.
“I fully appreciate that that’s not great. I sit in stadiums myself and wonder what’s going on at times.”
Five instances VAR failed Celtic
As the three year anniversary since the introduction of VAR to Scottish football nears, Maxwell’s comments spurred 67 Hail Hail to look back at the five worst decisions that have gone against Celtic.
- November 2022: Jota’s Celtic goal ruled offside using inconclusive camera angle.
- August 2023: Sead Haksabanovic denied a Celtic penalty in away defeat to Kilmarnock.
- March 2024: Celtic’s defeat to Hearts saw a poor penalty and red card decision cost Brendan Rodgers three points.
- November 2022: Bernabei’s handball in Celtic’s win at Dundee United.
- April 2024: Celtic’s 3-3 draw at Rangers was a result of a dubious penalty being awarded to the Ibrox club when the Hoops were 2-0 up and coasting.
Receive a digest of our best Celtic content each week direct to your mailbox
