A day on from Celtic’s 2-0 win at Pittodrie, a major VAR blunder has emerged and it’s one that has left supporters scratching their heads.
Aberdeen captain Graeme Shinnie appeared to blatantly handle the ball inside his own box. Attempting to guard the ball, Shinnie reached out with both hands to prevent it from going out for a corner. Kieran Tierney and Daizen Maeda reacted instantly, appealing to referee John Beaton, but play was waved on.
What’s even more baffling is that VAR, led by Andrew Dallas on the day, did not intervene. The incident, captured on the match broadcast, shows Shinnie making no attempt to disguise the movement – the kind of decision that usually results in a penalty without hesitation.
Watch the incident here:
Standard start to the season by Scottish officials…
Graeme Shinnie caught the ball with both hands in the box to stop the ball going out for a corner. Could see KT and Daizen react immediately. Sky didn’t review at all.
The most blatant of penalties missed.
Shambles. pic.twitter.com/cuqtFzsKY5
— ᴘʙ 🍀 (@p_bov1) August 11, 2025
The non-award will only fuel the ongoing debate over VAR’s role in Scottish football, especially in light of the system being introduced to eliminate obvious errors.
The controversy did not impact the result, with goals from Benjamin Nygren and Reo Hatate sealing the points, but the scale of the oversight will raise serious questions.
Heading into the season, Willie Collum was confident in the technology, entering its third season in Scottish football.
“We’re in a good place. We feel on the same page with the clubs as well, which is really, really important and I’m confident
“We’re pretty much 99 per cent there with the clubs and decisions. The decisions that maybe we’re not on the same page, we’ve listened to our stakeholders, we’ve listened to the clubs, we’ve listened to the coaches.
“I think it’s really, really important to have good relationships with an open door policy to engage with the clubs, with the players. Also, to learn from them.
“We’re really pushing hard the captain-referee approach domestically as well, so we want to see these good relationships on the pitch. I feel we’re in a good place in terms of relationship, but it’s so important because we need to help each other.
“The clubs, the coaches, the players, they need us as well to explain things and we need them to come and support us.”
Rodgers’ side now move on to a League Cup tie against Falkirk on Friday night, but this latest VAR storm will rumble on.
