The latest VAR Review Show has been released, and with it, the audio from the controversial decision that saw Celtic’s goal against Hibs at Easter Road wrongly disallowed.
The Scottish FA’s Key Match Incidents (KMI) panel has already admitted that VAR should not have intervened and that the goal should have stood.
The on-field referee Steven McLean awarded the goal, but VAR official Alan Muir stepped in, claiming the ball had gone out of play before Alistair Johnston’s assist to Daizen Maeda. Post-match, Brendan Rodgers was furious, stating that the officials had simply “guessed” the decision.
The full VAR conversation has now been released, and it makes for grim reading.
VAR Audio Transcript
VAR: What do you think there?
AVAR: I can’t definitively say. Any other angles?
VAR: Ball looks out of play. (Shows angle from behind goal) We’re not going to get it from there.
VAR: Looks out of play there. (New angle) Do you agree?
AVAR: No, it’s inconclusive.
VAR: I know.
AVAR: I don’t think we can conclusively say that’s out.
VAR: That’s not conclusive either.
AVAR: I don’t think you’ll get a conclusive angle.
VAR: That’s a good angle here. (Decides it’s out) Factual overturn, do you agree?
AVAR: Yes.
Despite the AVAR repeatedly stating there was no conclusive evidence, VAR still went ahead and overturned the on-field decision.
Willie Collum: VAR Should Have Supported On-Field Decision
Addressing the controversy, SFA Head of Referees Willie Collum admitted VAR got it wrong and should have backed the referee’s original decision.
“Let’s think what the starting point is? The starting point is the on-field decision. The on-field decision is the assistant referee keeps the flag down and a goal is scored.
“So, as far as the assistant referee is concerned, the ball has not gone out of play.
“The VAR and AVAR of course go into a check, which they are expected to do so. They need to assess with the cameras and the footage available if the ball is out of play.
“You hear the VAR at one point say that it looks like it’s gone out of play from a particular angle, and then AVAR correctly says ‘I don’t think you can be conclusive there’.
“Then an angle appears from the main camera and you hear a reaction, the VAR and AVAR both think at that point that’s evidence to say the ball is out of play.
“However, what I want to be very clear about, and we coach the VAR’s and AVAR’s to be certain about this, you need 100 per cent conclusive evidence to disallow the goal here and prove that the ball is over the goal line.
“And in this case, that is not possible. It’s not possible to prove categorically that the ball has crossed the goal line fully, because we know from previous examples at World Cup’s that a ball can look out from certain angles, but then when you look at the camera above – because in World Cup competitions there’s the spider cam and a clear camera on the goal line. A slight part, even a millimetre of the ball can be overhanging that goal line, and that’s enough to say that the ball is in play.
“So, in this occasion for us, we expect the on-field decision to be supported and a goal awarded.
“I would also say, if the assistant referee had flagged here and said in his opinion that the ball had crossed the line and it was a goal kick then we would also expect that decision to be supported because there’s no 100 per cent conclusive evidence.”
This latest VAR error has only added to the growing frustration surrounding the technology in Scotland. The admission from the SFA’s own review panel will do little to change the outcome of the match—but it only reinforces the feeling that Celtic were once again on the wrong end of a major refereeing mistake.
