Aberdeen boss Jim Goodwin welcomes the introduction of VAR to the Premiership but hopes it will not kill the intensity of games.
VAR (Video Assistant Referees) will be introduced to the top flight from Friday October 21 in Hibs’ home clash with St Johnstone.
The technology will be used in the other Premiership games that same weekend.
Aberdeen will experience VAR in a league game for the first time in the Saturday October 22 Premiership clash at Motherwell.
All 12 Premiership stadia are equipped for VAR which will also be used for all Scottish Cup and Premier Sports Cup semi-final and final matches at Hampden.
Goodwin is confident VAR will help get big decisions right.
However he hopes the delay with checks does not destroy the high tempo of Scottish top-flight games.
He said: “I’m a big advocate for VAR and as a club we are looking forward to it being implemented.
“Hopefully VAR will enable us to get the big decisions right more often than not.
“A lot of other sports have been using HawkEye and other things.
“I just hope the delay with the checks doesn’t cause too much of a disturbance.
“I hope it doesn’t kill the game and its intensity and tempo.
“We live in a country where we like the game to be played at a certain tempo and speed.”
Early teething problems expected
After almost three years of planning, development and testing, FIFA have given Scottish football the go ahead to introduce VAR.
In April this year at a general meeting 41 out of the 42 SPFL clubs voted to introduce VAR into the Premiership.
VAR will be coordinated centrally from the video operations room at Clydesdale House in Glasgow.
Production on all Premiership matches will also increase to a minimum of six cameras to bring more depth of coverage.
SFA chief executive Ian Maxwell recently warned the first three months of VAR could be “horrendous” as the Premiership gets to grips with the technology.
Goodwin said: “Of course there are going to be teething issues at the beginning.
“That is only natural until you get used to how the system works.
“However the dialogue from the SFA has been good and they have been honest.
“Hopefully there won’t be too many incidents where we need to keep reverting to VAR.
“I was at a meeting last week when the SFA invited the managers and clubs along and it is a great set-up.
“It is impressive what they have done.
“There has been a significant level of investment and it’s great to see we are doing things properly.”
NEWS | VAR will be used in Scottish domestic football from next week, beginning with Hibernian v St Johnstone in the cinch Premiership.
— Scottish FA (@ScottishFA) October 12, 2022
Right call to introduce VAR before the World Cup
VAR has been used at European games in Scotland but never in domestic football.
The technology was initially scheduled to be introduced in the Premiership after the World Cup in Qatar.
Scotland’s top flight goes into a five week break for the World Cup from November 12, returning on the weekend of December 17/18.
Goodwin said: “I know there has been some debate about bringing in VAR in the middle of a season but I believe if it is ready, get it in.
“In an ideal scenario it would have been in for the beginning of the season but the infrastructure was not in place.
“If we are ready to go and the referees are trained up on it then get it in.
“There were some percentages bandied about regarding the differences with a referee as we have it now and a referee being assisted with VAR.
“There was talk about maybe 92% of decisions in the main are correct at the moment.
“They reckon VAR will bring that up to the region of 98%.
“That extra 6% could make a significant difference.”
Incidents where VAR will be used
Video Assistant Referees will assist on-field referees in the event of a clear and obvious error or a serious missed incident in relation to:
- Straight red cards
- Penalty area incidents
- Goals
- Mistaken identity
Goodwin recently received an eight game ban, two suspended, for comments about Hibs’ Ryan Porteous in the aftermath of a 3-1 loss at Easter Road.
He accused Porteous of “blatant cheating” in an incident with Dons defender Liam Scales.
Footage subsequently revealed Porteous dragged Scales to the ground.
Yet it was Hibs who were awarded a spot-kick, which was converted.
Scales was also booked by referee David Dickinson, his second yellow, and sent off.
VAR could have cleared that incident up during the game.
‘Referees are very positive about it’
In the 4-0 loss at Dundee United the Dons also had a handball claim from a Jayden Richardson shot overlooked at 2-0.
Dundee United were also awarded a contentious penalty when Craig Sibbald went down from a challenge by Ross McCrorie.
Goodwin said: “We had another incident in the game last weekend.
“It would have been interesting to see what VAR made of the penalty that was given against us.
“The referees and the officials are all doing the best they can and all the big leagues are offering their referees this assistance.
“It is difficult when you only see an incident in real time and it is hard to get it right all of the time.
“We all want the referees to get the assistance they feel they need.
“I know the referees are very positive about VAR and they are looking forward to it coming.
“Ultimately all we want is for the big decisions to be called right.
“With some of the incidents we have had up to now in the nine league games I can think of a couple off the top of my head that would have gone to VAR had it been in at the time.
“That could have been the difference between picking up a point or picking up all three.
“I do think VAR will help us get those big decisions right more often than not.”
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