Exclusive Interview with Scottish Referees | VAR in Scottish Football

Steve Conroy and Des Roache speaking to the Get Involved Referee Podcast with OLBG

Speaking to The Get Involved Referee Podcast with OLBG, former Scottish Premier League referees Steve Conroy and Des Roache cast light on the upcoming season and the introduction of VAR in the league this year - even though it arrives mid-way through the season in December.

The decision to bring VAR in halfway through the season is ludicrous - they’ve done a half-arsed job

Des Roache: I can't believe they think it's appropriate to bring it in half–way through the season. it’s just nuts. We’ve said it a few times, even though the rules don’t change, interpretation will change with VAR and things will be looked at more closely than they were the week before. In many ways it's a different game.

Steve Conroy: We’ve been talking about this since the turn of the year. You tell me that the SPFL have sponsors ready, 12 grounds to get ready and tell me they do not have enough time between the 1st Jan to end of July/start of Aug to get them ready. We’ve seen them in Hampden with the Star Trek booth doing their stuff. Why is it not ready? They’ve been stalling on it and it's ridiculous.

The interpretation and the application will change immensely. When Team A gets a decision in week 10, it will be different to week 11. These will have huge implications on teams staying in the league, managers staying in a job and money coming into a football club. Just do it properly instead of half-arsed. Do it right if you are going to do it. They’ve had all the time to get the infrastructure ready. 

Domestic referees are perfectly capable of managing the Old Firm

DR:  There’s no way a foreign referee should manage the Old Firm. You see it often enough that we are all accused of being biased and there’s no secret to who I support. Not for a moment did it influence anything I did during a game of football though.

I defy anyone to find any of our referees are cheats and would do their job and make their decisions according to what team they support. There are a couple of high-profile moments in the last season or two, but not for a second would I believe that any of our guys would allow it to interfere with how they do their job.

SC: I always believe that if you are a referee, you enjoy football. If you enjoy football, you support a team. However, when you are officiating on that pitch at that moment in time, whether it's Rangers or Celtic or under 12’s, you see a foul. You don’t see the colour and you don’t see the team. 

Anybody can be a category one referee, who can give a foul with a biased opinion. It is instinctive and you can only give what you see. Certainly none of the guys in Scotland have gone down that route and I’ve never seen it, never. They’re too professional. They put all that hard work in through the years to build themselves up and get into that position. You’re not going to jeopardise it because you have an allegiance to team A or team B. So while I support a team, I’ve never shown that either positively or negatively.

Des Roache | Image: SPFL

The introduction of VAR will actually hinder Celtic and Rangers

SC: I think the fact that Celtic and Rangers are attacking more, are in the opposition penalty area more, they potentially might not get as many decisions. But they also might score more goals, not because referees give them more or less decisions, but to answer your question, they might quite possibly be hindered by it. 

Players’ theatrics will now be exposed by VAR - so Charlie Adam and co won’t get away with their antics now!

DR: There are cameras around now meaning the likes of Mr Charlie Adams’ theatrics will get pulled up! There’s going to be more that’s going to come out, more that’s going to happen. The whole world’s going to see it. 

SC: I was going to say it might make the players wiser, but it might make them more aware that they are under even more scrutiny now. That failing elbow may be picked up now but time will tell. 

Players will not be able to hide anymore - any bad thing they do will be picked up

DR: The only hiding place is if VAR does not pick it up but that's up to the cameras. If the cameras see it they're done for. You can only look in one direction, but if somethings going on behind my back I can't see it. That's the beauty of it. 

SC: What can the referee be expected to be in control of- if something is happening behind his back, then you were looking for the fourth official or assistant referee to pick that up. Now though, you have VAR, you have cameras and the clubs have no hiding place anymore. 

DR: It may come out in the fullness of time, when it first got introduced and assistants had to get involved to correct mistakes by the ref on the field, the assistant being involved automatically meant that the ref was marked down. I hope that that does not come on- if its to pull you up for someone's toe being offside, it's impossible to guide that or to see things like that, or if its an elbow on the blind side of everyone else and it's impossible to see, it's not a mistake because you cannot see it. I just hope to god the SFA have the sense to see that. 

SC: Over the last couple of years on BT or Sky, when they draw the lines on the pitch and it's a toenail further on, is that really a decision that should be affecting an outcome of a game? Is it a decision you would expect a referee to make? Nobody with the naked eye will be looking that up. It has to be for me is it a goal, is it not a goal, is it a yellow or red card. It has to be something factual that you can justify. With VAR, you take away the human element of refereeing. Refereeing, like football, is a game of skill or error. Referees make mistakes but the big things are what VAR have to be there for.

VAR will not add more fire to the Old Firm derby - but it might p*** off players!

DR: I think with the two managers that they have, I don't think that it will adversely affect it. I certainly don’t think it will add powder anymore. Obviously, there will be more p***** off players because of decisions, but VAR has been kicking about for so long now that it wont come as a surprise to them, so largely they will just suck it up. 

SC: It was quite notable that the persona and the images and the way that the two managers conducted themselves had a large impact on the team as well. As any Old Firm game, there will be explosions with the fans and on the pitch and I don’t think VAR will impact that. Both managers have positive impacts on the players though which was clear last year. 

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