Ally McCoist insists former star players should be asked to step in to save VAR and put some common-sense back into the game.
And the former Rangers boss pledged to lead the way by offering his services alongside Record Sport pundit Chris Sutton for next month’s Old Firm clash. Another weekend of high profile VAR controversies across Scottish football had the television and radio pundit admitting it’s wishful thinking but he’d prefer to see the entire system scrapped. A host of incidents at Motherwell, Celtic and Kilmarnock had fans up in arms over decisions which were referred to a studio match official and McCoist is adamant the whistlers would benefit from the help from those who’ve played the professional game.
He said: “I’m going to put my cards on the table - I thought it was going to be a good thing, I genuinely did. I said to myself: ‘Anything that rights a wrong has got to be a good thing. We can’t argue about that.
"But now I’ve completely flipped. It’s driving me crazy. It wouldn’t disappoint me if we didn’t see it again. I’m all for goal-line technology if the ball’s over the line, I’m for that, but I would not be breaking my heart if we didn’t see VAR again. It’s not really working anywhere, I don’t think.
“I genuinely think it would help if there was somebody who had played the game was there advising them. Some might come back and say ‘he might be advising them, but he is advising them to go against the laws of the game’. I think sometimes the law is an ass, particularly with the handball, which they’ll have to change.
"But guys and girls who have played the game know, nine times out of 10, whether it is a penalty. I’m not saying people who haven’t played the game don’t know, I’m not saying that at all. But I’m saying the guys and girls who have played it have a better conception of what actually constitutes offences. Get me down for the next Old Firm game, I’ll get in and get it right. Get me and big Sutton in, that would do it.”
But Sutton is happy to decline any invitation as he said: “I’m not sure I agree with Ally. I’d be okay but don’t think we could rely on him being impartial for a start! It’s competent people we need running VAR, regardless of whether they’ve played the game on not.”
McCoist accepts VAR is here to stay but he delivered a warning that its introduction into Scottish football this season is rewiring the basic emotional elements of the game and is proving a passion killer whenever the ball hits the back of the net.
He said: “There is an argument for it but there is no way we are getting rid of it. The only thing I like and understand is goal line technology. If you ask the supporters, that is the big one, that is one that would really annoy you if the ball was over the line and you didn’t get a goal. The thing that annoys me is the time it takes.
“That’s what drives me mental. If Nick Walsh or whoever makes a mistake I go ‘come on, but accept it as a genuine, honest mistake. But what I can’t accept is going on to look at a monitor and watching it 10 times and then getting it wrong. That can’t be right
“If you are a supporter, it is changing the way that people support football because you don’t know if you can celebrate a goal. You are celebrating and then you are looking along at the linesman. I would just have celebrated anyway! I would have celebrated more!”
Ally McCoist was promoting Viaplay’s live and exclusive coverage of Scotland v Cyprus and Scotland v Spain. Viaplay is available to stream from viaplay.com or via your TV provider on Sky, Virgin TV and Amazon Prime as an add-on subscription.
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