Only three decisions have been deemed incorrect by the VAR Independent Review Panel (IRP) following the first round of Scottish Premiership fixtures – and TWO of them cost Dundee.
The panel has claimed that a red card handed to Dark Blues’ midfielder Josh Mulligan in a match against Kilmarnock and the Dens Park side’s disallowed goal against Livingston were both officiating errors.
Aberdeen striker Bojan Miovski’s so-called double-hit penalty against St Mirren completed the mistake hat-trick.
There have been 407 VAR checks since the start of the season, 24 of which led to on-field reviews.
The IRP was set up ahead of the start of the season, the first full campaign with the video technology in place.
The panel of former players, managers and coaches is guided by experts on the Laws of the Game and gives an analysis of interventions and non-interventions from VAR.
The 12 Premiership clubs held a meeting with the Scottish FA’s referees department on Thursday to review the performance of VAR during the opening round of fixtures.
Audio of conversations between match officials and the VAR control room was relayed to the club representatives and explanations were given over how some key match incidents were dealt with.
Mulligan was sent off for a challenge on Danny Armstrong in Dundee’s 2-2 draw with Kilmarnock on September 23.
Video assistant referee Euan Anderson asked David Munro to review the incident but the referee stuck by his original decision.
‘Never a red’
Dundee boss Tony Docherty said after the game: “I thought it was never a red card and I said that to the referee.
“Yes, it was a foul and a booking. It’s about consistency – if that’s the decision for that tackle then there should have been seven or eight red cards.”
Dundee subsequently failed to overturn the red card following an appeal.
The IRP also felt Dundee were on the receiving end of an injustice when Amadou Bakayoko had a goal disallowed in a 2-0 win at Livingston on October 28.
Referee Willie Collum ruled the goal out after reviewing footage, deciding at least one offside Dundee player was interfering with play.
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