Saints chairman John Needham believes Scottish football should take a leaf out of rugby’s book to help cure their VAR blues.
The new video system has hit the headlines for many of the wrong reasons since it was introduced last month.
As well as making some contentious calls, Buddies have also cited a lack of clarity and huge delays in making key decisions as their main bugbears.
St Mirren boss Needham believes VAR will eventually become slicker and more reliable as those operating it get to grips with the new technology.
But he feels lessons learned by their rugby counterparts, who have been utilising video footage for much longer in the form of a TMO (television match official), could help Scottish football fans learn to love the extra support given to referees.
Especially if they are allowed to listen in to the reasoning behind key decisions which have a huge impact on their Premiership team.
Speaking exclusively to Renfrewshire Live Sport, Needham said: “It’s been well commented on that VAR has had a fairly bumpy start since it was introduced.
“It’s important to not think of VAR as just a negative thing. It should help to get more decisions right in the long run and it has already helped to do that in some instances so far.
“Every change takes time to adjust to and football will get it right eventually. I do agree that the communication to the fans needs to be improved.
“Fans need to know exactly what’s going on, both during games and afterwards. If you look at rugby, I like that you can hear the discussion between the referee and the video assistants.
“I think that’s something we could explore because it definitely adds something to it. People, myself included, sometimes aren’t aware of every nuance of the rules.
“To hear it from the officials themselves would help clear up a lot of doubt. It would also help to explain decisions more clearly and fully.
“It could actually add something to the experience, so I think it is something we should be looking at going forward.”
Needham also revealed the club are in discussions to fix the current video screen at the SMiSA Stadium, which has become even more of an issue since VAR was introduced as key messages need to be relayed to supporters inside the ground.
Needham added: “We do currently have one or two issues with the current screen. We are working on that but it won’t be an overnight thing because we need to get the right deal and the right kit.
“We’re talking to suppliers and we are looking at the option to have two screens at the ground, which would help us give out information even more clearly.”
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