St Mirren want SFA REMOVED from running VAR as they lead crusade for total revamp
Frustrated St Mirren chiefs are to lead the call for a total revamp of VAR in the Premiership and want to see it taken out of the hands of the Scottish Football Association and run by an independent body.
The Buddies feel aggrieved after a string of recent injustices and the final straw was the fact they weren’t awarded a penalty for a first half foul on Elvis Bwomono in Saturday’s 1-0 defeat to St Johnstone. The Paisley outfit have already had five acknowledgements of VAR mistakes this season and they expect that to become six when referee chief Willie Collum reviews the weekend footage.
That is the most errors against a single club in the top-flight and comes after St Mirren also topped that unwanted chart last season. St Mirren chiefs are now seeking urgent talks with the SFA but want sweeping changes and an independent body put in charge of VAR.
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A St Mirren insider said: “Yes, we are seeking an urgent meeting with the SFA. We want all relevant information shared in decisions, along with an acknowledgment of impact. All reasons behind VAR decisions should be shared.
“The selection of VAR teams needs to be reviewed and developed. We would like to see training on VAR policies with a whistleblowing policy created for authenticity/integrity. We also feel VAR should be run independently and have its own code of conduct and regulations away from the SFA and referees. We need to get this right because it is costing clubs financially to implement VAR and it shouldn’t be costing us on the pitch.”
St Mirren put out a statement in the wake of what they feel is this latest error in their defeat to St Johnstone.
The club has already been in contact with SFA referee chief Willie Collum and won’t let it lie with a simple apology.
A club statement read: ‘St Mirren FC is disappointed with the decision not to award a penalty in the first-half of yesterday’s match against St Johnstone following a foul on Elvis Bwomono. A VAR review cleared this decision without requiring the referee to look at the incident on the pitch-side monitor.
"The club has spoken to the Scottish Football Association’s Referee Department today seeking clarity on this and other decisions in yesterday’s match. Clearly, we are all humans and mistakes will happen. However, there has now been an accumulation of errors made against St Mirren. This is hugely disappointing for the club and our supporters, and we will continue to engage with the Scottish FA to improve standards of officiating.’
Norwegian football has recently made the decision to remove VAR from its top-flight.
