Willie Collum: Talks have taken place over in-stadium VAR announcements, goal-line technology would be supported

Scottish FA head of referees Willie Collum says he would fully back the introduction of goal-line technology in the Premiership – and revealed talks have taken place over officials making in-stadium VAR announcements.

One of the most controversial refereeing decisions of last season came on the final day when a Rangers ‘goal’ against Hibernian was not allowed because officials couldn’t determine whether the ball had fully crossed the line at Easter Road.

The decision came after a similar call in a Celtic match against Hibernian, where a goal for the champions was ruled out because it was ruled by the match officials that the ball had gone out of play before Alistair Johnston crossed for Daizen Maeda to score.

Collum admitted in his VAR review show that officials had effectively guessed and couldn’t be 100% certain the ball was out when they made the call.

In the wake of the Easter Road incident, Rangers had called for goal-line technology to be introduced in Scottish football and Collum said that while it would not aid in all controversial line calls, it would be a benefit to his referees.

“We would be very open to it,” the refereeing chief told STV. “We understand the financial constraints because goal line technology is very, very expensive.

“People might look at it and ask how often you would use it because, for example, the Hibs v Celtic decision, it wouldn’t have helped.

“Certainly the Hibs v Rangers decision, it would have helped because that’s a goalmouth decision.

“What I wouldn’t say is that because we don’t have one aspect of technology that we’ll make excuses or say that it’s impossible to call things.

“We want to make sure, even in the situations we find ourselves in, that we’re always striving for improvement and looking for ways to improve.

“Of course any kind of technology that we could bring in that would help us or improve us, in terms of refereeing, we would be open to it.

“Whether it be goal-line technology, in-stadium communication either leaving the monitor or when there’s a check going on for the people attending the matches in person.”

No price has been put on introducing the goal-line system in Scottish football, and Collum insists it’s not for him to pressure the clubs who would have to pay for it.

“That would be a decision outwith refereeing,” he said. “It’s not a decision we would make.

“We, of course, get financial support for VAR from the clubs so that would be a decision they would have to make.

“We would be in favour of goalline technology but it’s not for me to decide how any finances are spent.”

While that advance may still be some time away, another innovation may arrive at Scottish grounds sooner than expected.

In-stadium announcements, where the referee is connected to the stadium’s speaker system to explain VAR calls to supporters, has already been introduced at the top level, with some games in the English League Cup being used for a trial.

Collum revealed that talks have already taken place about bringing in the change to deliver a better experience for fans.

“We’ve had discussions with the clubs about that,” he said. “We would be very keen for that.

“It’s another element of transparency.

“Some of the difficulty with VAR is the in-stadium experience. We think that would certainly support it.
If there was a long check going on, the referee would be able to communicate that, and they could indicate the decision when leaving the monitor. You see it at the Club World Cup and other competitions.

“I’m always looking for the best product here in Scotland and I would support that.

“It’s not simple but we would embrace any technology that’s for the benefit of the game, the benefit of the product here in Scotland and for match officials and people involved in football.

“There’s a possibility it could be this coming season. If we get the support from the clubs financially we would be able to implement that.

“We would need a period of time to train but I’m not going to rule that out.”

For the time being, Collum is looking forward to the new season, after taking time to explain rule changes and interpretations to SPFL clubs, players and staff in recent weeks. As well as talking Premiership stars through the interpretation of the rules, he said he had also been listening to feedback to ensure a better understanding of footballers’ opinions and perspective on decisions, to get a better understanding for his match officials.

Among the new things fans, players and referees will be getting to grips with in the new season are three changes to the game.

‘Double-touch’ penalties will now be retaken if the player scores, with an indirect free-kick awarded to the defending team if the penalty is missed or saved.

If referees touch the ball, they will hand a drop ball to the team who would have received it, rather than only resuming the game with possession to the last team that played the ball as was previously the rule.

In the biggest change, and one that is to be strictly enforced, referees will now award a corner kick to the opposing team if a goalkeeper handles the ball for more than eight seconds.

Collum feels that can only speed up the game and eradicate time-wasting, and feels just the existence of the rule will achieve that without referees needing to act often.

“We think it will make the game much quicker because the goalkeepers now are under pressure to release a ball,” he said.

“We’ll have prepared our referees tactically for that as well, forgetting just about the decision-making, the eight seconds and punishing it. We also know there will be a lot of shorter balls at times in and around the penalty area. We need our referees to be well prepared for that.

“But, it’s like any rule change, the clubs are aware of it. We’ve spoken to a lot of goalkeeper coaches who are saying they’ve already been coaching it, working at it. So, we don’t think we’ll see a great amount of issues with that.”