Ian Maxwell admits Scottish football could be in for a horrendous few months as the game looks to get to grips with VAR. But the SFA chief is hoping clubs and fans to keep their cool and have patience – because the country’s officials will get it right.
Hampden bosses are close to rolling out their video assistant referee system with the final techie testing going on behind the scenes after successful trials involving our whistlers. Initially planned to be given the go-ahead after the World Cup, it is now understood there could be a soft roll out within the next two weeks. Maxwell insisted the SFA were close to hitting the button – but he revealed he has been warned but colleagues across the continent there could be initial chaos.
He said: “They’re going through the testing process. They’d done pretty much all the stadiums and they’re testing the connectivity and the software, not necessarily the match officials. It’s about whether the guys in the VAR centre can speak to the referee and everything works. That seems to have been going ok. We’ll see. We need to do it right. Due to the profile and because of the interest it’s going to get we need to be as ready as everyone can be. Now everyone I speak to at UEFA tells me that the first three months are going to be horrendous.”
Maxwell is hoping clubs and fans understand there could be some early teething problems – as seen in countries such as England – after the major shift in operating. He said: “Patience is probably a good word to use. There’s an understanding piece as well, just making sure that fans, managers, players, pundits, broadcast, media know when it’s used and why it’s used.
“You sit and watch a game and it’s a throw-in and people say VAR will tell that’s the wrong way but it doesn’t get involved in those things. We’ve spoken to managers and will continue to do that to educate everyone as much as we can. The biggest thing in that will be using it and getting used to it and the way it works. We need it, we want it, the clubs want it and it will solve a lot of the problems. You will always have the one or two contentious decisions – but this should it fix that.”
Meanwhile Maxwell will be roaring on the Scotland women’s side as they look to take a huge step towards qualifying for the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand next summer. The Scots take on Republic of Ireland at Hampden tonight looking for a repeat of last week’s win against Austria.
Maxwell said: “It’s a massive week for them. It was fantastic on Thursday. It was ground out. It was a horrible night. I don’t think it was a classic. Play-off games are generally difficult because no-one wants to lose. They’re not usually the most free flowing.
“The Republic will be similar. It’s another game where both sides will think they have a chance of getting through. I’d love to think there will be another big crowd. We had just over 10,000. “You’d like to think we can improve that on Tuesday which keeps showing the growth from a supporter perspective. I would urge as many as possible to get there and support the team. It’s another massive one. Getting to another women’s World Cup would be fantastic for the country.”
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