Steven Gerrard grumbling at the inconsistency from the SFA disciplinary department. James Fowler frustrated by the referee.
Fans up in arms and the conspiracy theories rage over dodgy penalty, elbows missed or yellow cards for tackles that can only be shown after the watershed.
Officials are back in the dock again in Scottish football, whether it’s the men in the middle or the ones working in the shadows behind the scenes.
But there’s a fairly obvious idea that could wipe away a lot of the controversies in one fell swoop and it’s right under the noses of the powers that be.
Get a move on with VAR.
It’s a more than a year on since the SFA and SPFL revealed they were kicking on with video technology trials but the can was kicked down the road when the pandemic hit and clubs freaked out over finances.
Yet here we are again, in 2021, complaining about calls that would have been pretty straightforward if there was another set of eyes on the sidelines.
Rangers boss Gerrard accepted the Alfredo Morelos retrospective ban for a sneaky stamp, team-mate Kemar Roofe could be in for the same after his challenge on Murray Davidson.
Celtic’s Scott Brown caught Aaron Tshibola on the chops while ref Kevin Clancy missed Odsonne Edouard being offside for his goal at Rugby Park and Albian Ajeti’s penalty looking dubious.
There’s a lot to unravel but it could all be so simple, according to former SFA chief executive Gordon Smith, who was banging the drum over VAR since before it was even called VAR.
Smith said: “There’s an easy solution staring Scottish football in the face – bring in video technology.
“If they used technology there wouldn’t be the same workload or controversy with the retrospective punishment – there would barely be a need for a compliance officer if decisions were dealt with in real time.
“There also wouldn’t be the criticism of officials for getting key decisions wrong.”
Smith pitched a version of VAR more than a decade ago and while it’s gradually come in to the global game, Scottish football is in danger of being lapped while the referees are hung out to dry.
He said: “I put this forward when I was on FIFA and UEFA’s football committee years ago.
“It as after the infamous Thierry Henry handball against Ireland in the World Cup play off and it just seemed incredible that everyone sitting at home could see the goal should not have stood.
“It was a huge decision that denied Ireland a place in a major tournament.
“Back then there were a lot of ex-players on the committee, Michele Platini, Franz
Beckenbauer, Dino Zoff and so on, and they rejected it, saying controversy was part of the game.
“That argument didn’t make much sense to me then – and even less so now. The technology has came on leaps and bounds in the last decade and we’re now seeing VAR used on the big stage. It doesn’t help our officials improve either as they will start getting looked over for major matches that have the technology in place because they are not using it in their domestic game.
“Scotland is in danger of being left behind.”
There’s plenty of folk against VAR of course, especially when they see the h Premier League debating over decisions that need a microscope.
The EPL version costs a fortune as well – which Scottish clubs don’t have – but Smith reckons we can learn from that.
He said: “I get the England argument but the fact they have been using it is a perfect way to gauge how we would use it in Scotland. There’s probably been an overuse of VAR down south, with incidents looked at to the tiniest detail.
“It has to be for clear and obvious errors, but they will iron it out and it gives us a head start for when we start using it.
“VAR is coming – it’s just a matter of when. I know there was a lot of talk about it being too expensive, but it doesn’t have to be.
“It can be done to scale. We don’t need half a dozen officials sitting in Stockley Park, like they do in England.
“We could do it with the fourth official and an iPad.
“It doesn’t make much sense to have people in the stands and at home with instant access to footage that can change a game, and the one man who is denied that evidence is the man in the middle.”
The crucial point is getting the big calls right – and then no one can have any complaints.
Smith said: “I still remember when I was at Kilmarnock and a goal that wasn’t given in the League Cup semi-final against Dundee for offside. It turned it should have been given and we could have made the final.
“It’s amazing we still have these discussions more than 40 years later.
“These are big decisions that can decide league placings, relegation, qualification for tournaments and so on. I know Steven Gerrard talks about the offside goal in the Betfred Cup Final last season, there’s been incidents recently that were either missed or called wrong.
“You’ve got the Morelos retrospective red card, the Brown incident, the penalty call at Kilmarnock, this latest Kemar Roofe one.
“Managers will complain when they are affected but won’t be as critical when they are on the side of a decision or non decision, if you like.
“It’s easy to point the finger at the referee or the SFA, but you would end a lot of that if they’d implement the technology.”
