Two referees step back from on-field duties as VAR changes come in for Celtic opener

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The SFA have made changes to their VAR operations ahead of Celtic’s league opener this weekend.

The Hoops get the new Premiership season underway on Saturday lunchtime with a home game against Ross County.

VAR will be starting its first full season with the match, but there will be some differences in how the SFA are approaching things this year.

On Thursday morning, the SFA announced that they had appointed their first dedicated Video Assistant Referees. Andrew Dallas and Greg Aitken are the chosen two, and they will now “step back from their on-field duties” as the governing body put it.

Quite simply, you won’t be seeing Dallas or Aitken on the pitch anytime soon. They will spend their time at Clydesdale House, officiating matches on VAR.

Last season, all referees moved freely between the pitch and the VAR room. That could still be the case with most, but Dallas and Aitken will be on VAR duties every week.

It just so happens that it’s Greg Aitken on VAR for Celtic‘s game against the Staggies this weekend, with Nick Walsh the referee. (SFA)

The SFA also say that Gary Hilland, Andrew McWilliam and Graeme Leslie will step back from being on-field assistant referees to become dedicated Assistant Video Assistant Referees.

A ‘VAR Independent Review Panel’ has also been created for this season. The panel — comprised of former players, managers and coaches — will meet on a regular basis to “discuss and give an independent view of VAR interventions and non-interventions.”

The SFA say that the moves announced on Thursday are their “commitment to improved transparency and efficiency, and knowledge and understanding of VAR.”

All sounds good, but let’s see how things play out before we rush into any judgements.

In other news, UEFA’s homegrown quota rules and what they mean for Celtic this season