Charlie Nicholas has slammed the Scottish FA and SPFL for doing VAR on the cheap after it failed to do its job during the Viaplay Cup semi-finals.
With the Hampden pitch cutting up at every opportunity, the video technology wasn't much better, especially as Rangers took on Aberdeen in the second instalment of the last four encounters. The day before, Willie Collum didn't award Kilmarnock what appeared to be a stonewall penalty against Celtic after Giorgos Giakoumakis hauled Joe Wright to the ground in stoppage time. The whistler waved play on and VAR somehow agreed with the whistler's call.
The following day, Nick Walsh was forced to go old school more than once as technical issues meant his eye in the sky went blind as pictures and audio stopped going between Clydesdale House and Hampden. It was announced during extra-time that VAR would not be in operation from the remainder of the game, only to start working again.
Now Nicholas has accused the beaks of going for a budget friendly version of VAR. And he's urged them to find a way to fund an improved incarnation of the system.
He wrote in his Daily Mail column: The Viaplay Cup semi-finals should have been two showcase events for Scottish football, but THEVAR farce and an awful Hampden pitch made it a national embarrassment.
With Celtic clinging on to a 1-0 lead against Kilmarnock on Saturday, substitute Giorgos Giakoumakis' clumsy challenge on JoeWright should have been a penalty. It was a stonewaller.
Giakoumakis looked frustrated, maybe because he is likely to be leaving Parkhead this month. How Killie weren't given the spot-kick, I will never know. VAR checked it but referee Willie Collum wasn't even asked to review his original decision.
In the lead-up to the semi, Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou and his captain Callum McGregor had claimed they were due aVAR break. The Hoops certainly got one at the weekend. After getting away with his challenge, Giakoumakis added insult to injury for Killie by going up to the other end of the field to score the goal that sealed a 2-0 win.
Things didn't get any better in Sunday's semi between Rangers and Aberdeen when we had the ridiculous scenario of VAR breaking down and being abandoned after Kemar Roofe had put the Light Blues 2-1 ahead early in extra time.
About four minutes later, though, it was suddenly announced over the public address system that it was back up and running. Scottish football opted to go for the cut-price version of VAR that costs £250,000 per season and now we are paying the price.
The cheaper model provides limited cameras and back-up for our officials. Is this how we want to promote our game to the world?
We should be giving officials the best tools and training - not to mention a full-time wage - so we can get back to talking about football again. We had two exciting semis and look at what made the headlines. It's ridiculous.
We've tried to do things on the cheap by cutting corners and it is turning our game into a laughing stock at times. The clubs, SPFL and SFA need to get together and agree to do VAR properly. Do it right and give our refs a chance.
As a game, let's strive to be the best we can be. Yes, it will cost a lot more money but be inventive to bring in additional funding.
Why not get a sponsor for VAR? Their decisions are often game-changing. It would be a win-win for Scottish football and the sponsor, giving their brand exposure at our grounds and on TV.
If we keep things the way they are, it will just continue to cheapen our game. Speaking of which, how bad was that Hampden pitch at the weekend?
We can't even blame Queen's Park as they haven't played on it for five weeks. What must people looking from the outside think of Scottish football when they see the state of the national stadium's surface on top of what happened with VAR?
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