Football fans in Scotland, including those of a Celtic persuasion, have long asked for refereeing transparency from the Scottish FA and it appears we’re finally getting it.
New head of refereeing Willie Collum has ushered in new initiatives, including the launch of a new monthly VAR podcast which was welcomed by Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers.
The governing body have now also introduced a new ‘Key Match Incident Review Panel’ consisting of five people made up of those with established careers in Scottish football.
Their examination of major incidents and VAR reviews will be published online every week and the first edition focused on last weekend’s Scottish Premiership matches that included Celtic’s 2-0 win over Hearts.
SFA review Celtic vs Heart penalty incidents
Steven Naismith was left annoyed in the aftermath of the Bhoys’ victory. He felt that if the Hearts claim for a penalty for a phantom Liam Scales handball was not given then the one eventually awarded to Celtic for a James Penrice handball shouldn’t have been either.
However, the SFA have provided a robust explanation that demonstrates Naismith was grasping at straws in his post-match interviews.
On the Scales incident, the findings explain that the ‘t-shirt line’ rule was a factor, with the ball hitting the defender too far up the arm to be considered a handball office.
The outcome states: “The panel agreed this was a tough call for the referee but supported that VAR intervened and overturned the penalty kick for handball. The distance from the attacking player to the defender is too close and he has no time to react. The panel were not convinced that the ball struck a punishable part of the arm.”
Regarding the Penrice foul in the box, it was said: “The panel discussed this decision at length with the majority deeming the onfield decision incorrect and believed the Assistant Referee was more of the lead on this one due to positioning. The majority believed this was a correct VAR intervention to award the penalty, noting that the defender made himself bigger and that his arm is out from the body.”
Despite Naismith’s assertions, these two incidents were not the same at all and the officiating teams eventually reached the right decision in both cases.
It’s a bold new era for SFA refereeing
This resource provided by the SFA is going to be very useful as the season progresses, especially for even more marginal calls in matches.
We will at least get the thinking behind key incidents rather than being left to guess why things are or aren’t given.
This should keep referees focused on improving standards rather than simply hiding behind secretive and defensive communications from the SFA. We’re going to know exactly who is and isn’t getting things right every week.
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