Former Aberdeen manager Craig Brown believes the introduction of VAR in Scottish football is long overdue.
Video replays to assist referees will become reality in Scottish football’s top flight after the World Cup in Qatar and current Dons boss Jim Goodwin insisted the change cannot come soon enough over the weekend.
Brown said: “It does feel as if VAR in Scottish football is long overdue.
“At the Euros last summer, I was at the games at Hampden, the two involving Scotland and the game between Croatia and the Czech Republic.
“Former Scottish referee Hugh Dallas was there in his role as UEFA referees committee deputy chairman and we discussed VAR then.
“He was amazed it still had not been implemented in Scottish football and insisted we had to have it.
“Given how VAR is improving every year and the decision-making process is improving it makes sense to have it in place in Scotland.”
Brown has sympathy for Dons boss Jim Goodwin
Dons defender Liam Scales was sent off after being shown a second yellow card following a collision with Hibs defender Ryan Porteous.
The Aberdeen manager was furious at the decision, which also resulted in a penalty for the home for their equaliser, and Brown can understand why Goodwin was so angry in his post-match comments.
Brown said: “I joined Rob McLean for commentary for RedTV at Easter Road on Saturday.
“When the incident happened I did not have access to a monitor, but Rob did and I nudged him as I wanted to have a look as I had my doubts.
“When I saw the replay, it was clearly a foul against Scales, so I can understand why the manager was aggrieved at the decision to award a penalty and send his player off went against his team.
“It does seem to be a flaw in our system where a player can be cautioned in a game and then have it upgraded to a red card a few days later, but the mechanism is not there to overturn a yellow card by the same means.”
Decisions should rest with official
Brown has warmed to the idea of introducing VAR in Scotland, but he believes the focus must be on ensuring it is used as a tool to support officials during matches.
A strong supporter of Scottish officials in general, the former Scotland boss hopes a process can be implemented to ensure the final decision remains with the official on the pitch.
He said: “People look at VAR as a means to overturn decisions, but I don’t see it that way.
“We need it to ensure we are making the correct decision even if we do not agree with them.
“Incidents like the one at Easter Road show why VAR in Scottish football can help, but it will be interesting to see how it will work.
“I like the idea of another official watching an incident back and drawing the match referee’s attention to it and suggesting they review it in real-time.
“If the referee has made a call in a game, it seems fair they are given the opportunity to change their mind rather than it being overturned in a room somewhere.”
Technology a welcome addition to Scotland
Brown has welcomed the shift to supporting the introduction of technology in the game and believes it is a welcome step forward for the game.
He said: “I can remember the debate about goal-line technology being introduced.
“For years the argument against it was that it could not be implemented at every level of the game and we could not in effect have two different versions of the game taking place at once.
“We’re now at a point where not only is VAR coming to Scotland after the World Cup, but it will only be in the Scottish Premiership and the latter stages of the League Cup.
“Perhaps the cost is too prohibitive for lower league clubs, but it does seem the view has shifted significantly from where it used to be.
“We could certainly have done with goal-line technology for Aberdeen women’s game at Spartans on Sunday when the first goal was given to the home side when the ball clearly had not crossed the line.”
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