Ex-Uefa official: SFA told to launch probe as Celtic and Rangers set for unprecedented development
The Scottish FA should launch a review into how VAR is working in the background of Celtic and Rangers games during the first half of the 2022-23 season before formally introducing it for the second half of the campaign.
That is the view of ex-Uefa and Fifa referee Keith Hackett, speaking exclusively to Football Insider after SFA chief executive defended the decision to introduce VAR mid-season.
He told BBC Sport at the weekend (25 June) that he wants the technology “as soon as possible” and that will be when the league resumes after the World Cup in December.
The 47-year-old revealed it will work in the background during the first part of the campaign before the World Cup to test the processes.
And Hackett has suggested that offers the perfect opportunity to review how it works before its formal introduction.
He told Football Insider correspondent Connor Whitley: “I think Ian Maxwell knows his league, knows his referees, knows Scotland and his hands-on.
“I think it’s the right approach. They need to be up to speed with the rest of the world.
“They are members of the IFAB so will have seen all the figures and results of VAR that are tabulated and brought to the IFAB meetings.
“I think it’s right. They will have had the training and they need the reviews. That will be the process in the first half of the season up to the World Cup.
“Review it, is it working? What are the weaknesses? How do we address them?
“I would like to see the Scottish FA to appoint a head of VAR and to do what the MLS do and have a review programme each week and run it on social media.
“This is not a hatchet job, this is about information and people having an understanding that officiating is not an easy task.”
In other news, Kieran Maguire has revealed Rangers and Celtic must negotiate together as details of a £2million-a-year deal emerge.