The VAR Independent Review Panel has found that incorrect decisions are soaring in the Scottish Premiership – with a disallowed St Johnstone goal among them.
The SFA has published the latest findings, with 13 key incidents deemed to be incorrect – up from three in the first quarter of the season.
Once more, Dundee are a high profile club on the list.
This time they have been hard done by on two fronts, and benefitted twice.
The Saints goal that should have stood was Graham Carey’s opener against Aberdeen last month.
The Irishman volleyed home from the edge of the box but referee, John Beaton, was subsequently directed to go to the pitch-side monitor when the VAR official decided Liam Gordon had fouled Jamie McGrath.
Dundee’s mixed results
When Dundee faced Rangers at Ibrox in December, VAR should not have recommended an on-field review for a penalty after a foul on Rangers’ Abdallah Sima, nor should there have been a review of Jose Cifuentes’s yellow card in the same game.
VAR should have instigated a foul being awarded against Motherwell’s Bevis Mugabi’s when the Fir Park side played Tony Docherty’s men, meaning the goal that made the score 2-2 would have been disallowed.
The most recent of the Premiership errors was not spotting a Michael Mellon foul in the build-up to Zach Robinson’s goal for Dundee at Livingston, a minute after the hosts had reduced the Dark Blues’ lead.
The (IRP) panel is drawn from former top level managers, player and coaches, and is guided by experts on the laws of the game.
Introduced at the start of the season, it is in place to provide an independent view on referees and the use of Video Assistant Referees.
Scottish football is half-way through its first full season of using the VAR system and these statistics show a sharp rise.
The SFA would point to the fact that 378 VAR reviews were made in the second quarter of the season.
The figures showed that there was an average of 0.4 on-field VAR reviews per match, with the number of factual overturns this season now standing at 24.
The governing body’s Referee Operations department considers 89.3% of on-field decisions have been reached correctly, increased to 97.6% when including VAR interventions.
The statistics were shared with the 12 Premiership clubs on Thursday morning.
Conversation