CELTIC manager Ange Postecoglou has expressed hope that VAR won’t kill the atmosphere and spectacle of a showdown that will be beamed across the world tomorrow.
The new technology will be used for the first time in a meeting between the Glasgow rivals in the cinch Premiership match at Ibrox this afternoon.
Postecoglou has been an outspoken critic of VAR since it was introduced in this country back in October.
The Greek-Australian coach has been unhappy both with the length of time it has taken to arrive at decisions and with many of the calls which have been made.
John Beaton has been named as the referee for the match in Govan this afternoon while Willie Collum will be in charge of VAR at Clydesdale House.
Postecoglou has urged the match officials to allow the meeting with Rangers, who are nine points behind Celtic in the top flight table, today to flow.
“I am sure the authorities and officials are well aware of the magnitude of the game and the eyes that will be on the game,” he said.
“The last thing that we all want is to be standing around and watching an individual with his hand to his ear for too long. That is not what people around the world are going to be wanting to watch.
“If mistakes are made in terms of decisions I think we can deal with that, but ultimately what we want to see is a good game of football.”
Celtic will once again only have around 700 fans in the 50,000-strong crowd inside Ibrox for the second Glasgow derby match of the season.
The Parkhead club used to be given the entire Broomloan Road stand by their opponents, but in recent years their ticket allocation has been slashed.
Postecoglou oversaw a 2-1 triumph on the last occasion that he took charge of a game at the Govan ground back in April and has no concerns about his side’s fans being significantly outnumbered.
“You would like to have more in there for sure, for the spectacle and the game itself,” he said. “But we certainly heard the 700 we had there last season. Hopefully we hear them again on Monday.”
