The SFA has announced that Jon Moss will take on the role of VAR Manager, supporting Willie Collum, who was recently appointed as the head of referees.

NEWS | Experienced official Jon Moss has been appointed as VAR Manager, supporting Head of Refereeing, Willie Collum, on the management and implementation of VAR in Scotland.

— Scottish FA (@ScottishFA) August 7, 2024

This decision follows initial expectations that Moss would succeed Crawford Allan in the top officiating role, which ultimately went to Collum.

Jon Moss, an experienced referee with extensive VAR involvement in England, expressed his enthusiasm for his new role. In his first interview since the appointment, Moss stressed the importance of the critical aspects of VAR—clarity, communication, and transparency—which he plans to foster in Scottish football, and fans will welcome this for sure.

He said: “I’m really excited to work with Willie and the team to evolve the implementation of VAR in Scottish football.

“In our conversations we agreed on the importance of the fundamentals of VAR: clarity, communication and transparency.

“We went through a similar process around the introduction of VAR in England – I was the referee in the first ever game that VAR intervened in the country – so I’ve seen first-hand what has worked and what needed to change, both as a referee and in my role within PGMOL.

“I look forward to working with the referees and the team at the Scottish FA to continue to improve how VAR is operated within Scottish football.”

His arrival comes at a poignant time for Scottish football. After a season of VAR drama, there was more last weekend in Celtic’s opening match where many felt a penalty was wrongly denied. The incident sparked widespread discussion about the effectiveness and transparency of VAR in the league.

Hopefully, we can see a change of direction with VAR in Scotland under Moss’ leadership.