In ten, or maybe 20, years time the word ‘Copenhagen’ may be a good answer to a Celtic related pub quiz question.
“Who were the opposition when Celtic first came into contact with the wonders of VAR?”
Sadly, many Hoops fans will hope to forget this Europa League last 32 tie, but that’s not down to the technology.
All season we have heard about what a shambles the system has been in the English Premier League.
Every decision scrutinised. Armpits suddenly becoming important in offside decisions. It’s a farce. Or so we were told.
But the conclusion from VAR’s first proper meeting with Celtic can only be that it works.
Sure, you may argue that it’s taking a bit of the unpredictability out of the game. That it’s taking the power away from the on-field referee.
But you can’t argue that it doesn’t help get decisions right.
VAR was relatively quiet over the two legs
Over our 180 minutes against the Danes, VAR was only really called into action on two occasions.
Ironically it was around the 80th minute in both matches, and to award a penalty to the hosts following a hand ball.
By the letter of the law, both penalties were fair. The bookings were perhaps harsh, especially in Ryan Christie’s case, although that is less about VAR and more about the current rules of football.
VAR worked efficiently on both cases with the referee walking over to the sideline monitor, viewing the incident for himself before awarding the penalty.
There was a nice air of suspense about it, while the incidents didn’t seem to drag on for too long.
Of course, we’d rather the calls were made instantly. But we don’t live in a perfect world. VAR at least gives us some sort of fairness.
Overall, it gets a thumbs up from this writer. Until the next time we meet VAR. Which, let’s face it, could be a while.
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