Dundee manager Tony Docherty has commended Willie Collum for taking positive steps toward improving the perception of VAR in Scottish football.
Collum, a former Grade One referee, took over from Crawford Allan as the Scottish FA’s head of refereeing this summer and has quickly moved to enhance communication and transparency around the use of VAR technology.
In a bid to improve understanding, the Scottish FA launched a new monthly series, The VAR Review, on their YouTube channel.
In its first episode, Collum discussed and analysed several key decisions made during the opening month of the season.
The experienced whistler did find that mistakes had naturally been made and explained the process behind several on-field refereeing verdicts as well as why VAR only intervenes at specific points.
The initiative has been well received, and Docherty feels that under Collum's leadership, progress is being made to address the issues that have surrounded VAR since its introduction in Scotland in autumn 2022.
“I said in the summer when Willie got appointed that I thought it was a brilliant appointment,” the Dundee gaffer commented.
“I really applaud him for the recent programme he did. I watched the whole thing.
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“I’ve always been an advocate of VAR. Anything that’s going to develop and enhance our game, I’m all for, and VAR will. But it just needs somebody to make sure it’s going through the process the right way, and I think Willie is doing that.
“It’s all about communication, there has to be better communication than there was last year, and I think Willie has taken that on board.
“There has to be more consistency as well. And if he continues to do what he’s done there, then I applaud what he’s doing. It can only benefit the game.”
