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The National (Scotland)
The National (Scotland)
Sport
Ewan Paton

SFA chief praises 'amazing' referees & VAR success in Scotland

The Scottish FA President has defended VAR amid recent strong criticisms of the technology.

Mike Mulraney believes Scottish referees are doing an 'amazing' job, as the Premiership continues adapting to the implementation of video replays.

The SFA chief insists that compared to other leagues across Europe, officials on the parks and those in control at Clydesdale House have carried out a good job.

Brendan Rodgers said just two weeks ago that he would be in favour of scrapping VAR altogether. The Celtic boss admitted he would rather accept human error by referees than over-analysing every single incident on the pitch.

Now, Mulraney has issued a vote of confidence to the officials in Scotland.

He told the Daily Mail: "I believe our referees, when you consider VAR has only been in for a year, are doing an amazing job. There have been mistakes. Of course there has. But they have done an amazing job of finding a new way of refereeing.

"They have done a very, very good job and, hopefully, it will get better. Look around Europe and speak to other associations as often as I do and, trust me, we are doing okay.

"We brought in an independent panel of ex-pros to study decisions after the first quarter of the season and the evidence seems to show that we are getting there and we are doing the right kind of things. But, as always, we have to embrace transparency and ensure that we learn and improve."

He continued: "I was the last guy around the table to be persuaded about VAR when chairmen voted to bring it in. I voted for VAR in the end for a different reason to others.

"I believed that, without it, we disadvantaged too many Scottish-based players. 'Without VAR, our club teams would not be experienced in the technology when they go and play in European competitions. 'Our Scottish-based players would not be experienced in VAR when they play for the national team. The world is moving that way and Scotland could not be left behind."

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