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When Scottish football opened its doors to VAR in October 2022, SFA chief executive Ian Maxwell warned that the first three months could be ‘horrendous’ due to inevitable teething problems.
It was a rough approximation of the timescale in which the national game would get to grips with the use of technology.
However, the feeling of Groundhog Day is proving difficult to shake. Three months has turned into three years.
Crawford Allan stepped down as the SFA’s head of refereeing 18 months ago, passing the baton to Willie Collum.
At a time when Aberdeen had branded the technology ‘not suitable for purpose’ and threatened to withdraw their financial support for its implementation, Maxwell admitted that VAR processes ‘needed to improve’.
After a chaotic and controversial Old Firm clash at Hampden last Sunday, are we really any further forward?
Auston Trusty kicks Jack Butland on the head during Sunday's chaotic Old Firm derby
Rangers players are furious as Trusty only receives a yellow card from referee Nick Walsh
Trusty goes back to check on Butland, but will have been relieved not to receive a red card
Matches continue to be plagued by glaring errors from referees and the officials behind the VAR screens.
Rangers had every right to be angered by the incident involving Jack Butland and Auston Trusty towards the end of the first half.
Trusty stupidly flicked out his boot and kicked the Rangers goalkeeper in the head as he lay on the ground. The ball was never loose to be contested. Butland had it in both hands.
Long story short, it was a red card. Just the same as Thelo Aasgaard was correctly sent off for a ridiculous, reckless lunge that caught Tony Ralston on the hip.
As for the Ralston penalty incident, which was the other main point of contention raised by Rangers chiefs when they met with Collum on Monday night, it was deemed that there had been a lack of intent.
When a penalty has been awarded for handball which is deemed to be more accidental than intentional, referees are encouraged to show leniency with regards to bookings.
Don’t shoot the messenger. Those are merely the guidelines as laid out in the International Football Association Board [IFAB] laws of the game.
Does a handball need to be intentional to award a penalty? No. Does it need to be intentional to award a penalty *and* yellow card? Yes. That’s the difference.
Penalty was awarded to Rangers following handball by a grounded Anthony Ralston
Thelo Aasgaard had earlier been sent off for high lunge on Celtic full-back Ralston
Aasgaard is shown red card by Nick Walsh just seven minutes before half-time in cup semi
So, by the absolute letter of the law, the SFA’s explanation on the Ralston incident probably stacks up.
It wasn’t deliberate and therefore wasn’t worthy of a second booking.
Less so their explanation about why Trusty wasn’t sent off.
In their discussions with Collum, Rangers were told there had been a lack of force, hence why referee Walsh and VAR Steven McLean deemed it worthy of only a booking.
That line prompted the club statement from Rangers which insisted they remain ‘unsatisfied’ with the outcome, while claiming that the VAR process had not been sufficiently robust or thorough.
It does beg the question: how could McLean spend a minute or so watching replays of the incident and not even refer Walsh to the pitchside monitor for a second look? That’s the frightening part.
It was McLean, of course, who was in charge at Ibrox a couple of months ago when Hearts won 2-0, a match which saw Lawrence Shankland freely admit to a handball in the build-up to his goal.
In his monthly VAR debrief, Collum admitted the officials had blundered and that the goal should have been ruled out.
Just as he admitted last year that Frank Connor and Alan Muir had made ‘really, really poor’ and ‘unacceptable’ decisions when failing to award Rangers a penalty in the Premier Sports Cup final against Celtic.
Two more high-profile controversies involving Rangers over the past year included the red card shown to Mohamed Diomande by Walsh against Dundee United, which was later rescinded.
Danny Rohl, above, lost his first Old Firm match as Rangers boss but is being asked to work miracles with a squad built by sporting director Kevin Thelwell
That was after Walsh had, inexplicably, gone to the monitor for a second look and doubled down on his initial decision that Diomande had used an arm to lash out at an opponent.
The SFA’s Key Match Incident Panel [KMI] then admitted that Nico Raskin’s phantom goal at Hibs in a 2-2 draw in May, when the ball had clearly crossed the line, should have stood.
This is where the whataboutery in Scottish football usually goes into overdrive. ‘Aye, never mind Rangers, what about such and such a decision against Celtic...’
This column focused on matters at Celtic when Brendan Rodgers branded referee Don Robertson ‘incompetent’ last year, a comment for which he received a one-match touchline ban.
We are focusing on Rangers because they have taken issue with the standard of refereeing, not only last weekend but more broadly since VAR was introduced.
As some of the incidents listed above make clear, it’s understandable that they should cite a lack of meaningful progress being made.
However, let’s make one thing clear. Rangers actually played better with 10 men than 11 at Hampden. The decisions from the officials should not be advanced as an excuse for losing the game.
They lost the game because Danny Rohl is being asked to work miracles with a squad built by sporting director Kevin Thelwell that is patently unfit for purpose.
If they want to talk about holding anyone ‘accountable’, as they said in their statement, they should start with Thelwell for overseeing a truly abysmal recruitment drive in the summer.
The Auston Trusty incident which sparked controversy and led to crunch talks between Rangers and the SFA's head of refereeing Willie Collum
Listen, referees will make mistakes. At the end of the day, they are only human. VAR is supposed to be there to help them, rather than doubling down on the initial error.
That’s the crux of all of this. The great failure is not VAR and technology. That’s only part of the equation. The real problem is the fact the SFA continue to prop-up failing referees.
Three years down the line and there are no tangible signs of progress being made. The wider standard of officiating in Scottish football continues to undermine the use of technology.
When a player kicks an opponent in the head, it is the very definition of endangering an opponent. How much force do they need to use?
Collum’s monthly debrief is generally a good thing. It is informative and educational, if occasionally brain-frazzling with some of the explanations offered.
The next episode should certainly make for interesting viewing.
