The VAR independent Review Panel have adjudged that there have been 13 new ‘key match incidents’ that have been called incorrectly since the previous review, making it 16 in total for the season.
It has been revealed that 89.3% of on-field decisions were considered correct by Referee Operations, a figure which increased to 97.6% when including VAR interventions.
The most high profile of the decisions noted is that of Alistair Johnston’s handball during December’s Old Firm game. The panel say that VAR should have recommended the referee consult the pitch side monitor, which would have seen an offside in the build up come to light and free kick to Celtic given.
Hearts should have been awarded a penalty for a foul on Liam Boyce against Motherwell, whilst Will Dennis should have seen red against the Jambos in December.
The panel also stated that Rangers should not have been awarded a penalty for a foul on Ross McCausland in November’s match against Livingston, however John Souttar should not have conceded a penalty given against in favour of Kilmarnock in January.
Bevis Mugabi’s goal for Motherwell against Dundee should not have stood, whilst Kilmarnock’s Marley Watkins should have seen red against Aberdeen in December.
The on-field decision of no penalty to Rangers for a foul on Abdallah Sima against Dundee should have remained and Jose Cifuentes’ yellow card in the same game should not have been upgraded to a red.
Beni Baningime should have been shown a red card in Hearts clash with Aberdeen, whilst the panel say Hearts should have had a penalty for a foul on Alan Forrest against Ross County.
Graham Carey also should have seen his goal for St Johnstone against Aberdeen stand but Zach Robinson’s goal for Dundee against Livingston should not have stood for a foul in the build up.
The statement published on the SFA website reads:
“Following the conclusion of the first two full rounds of SPFL Premiership fixtures in the 2023/24 season, the VAR Independent Review Panel (IRP) have met to consider Key Match Incidents (KMIs).
“The panel comprises former players, managers and coaches, guided by experts on the Laws of the Game.
“In the opinion of the IRP, based on incidents requested by the panel or submitted for consideration, 16 KMIs have been adjudged to have reached an incorrect outcome since the start of the season.
“To date, there have been a total of 785 VAR reviews conducted in the SPFL Premiership. Whilst the majority of these are silent checks of on field incidents which require no intervention, 51 have resulted in on-field reviews (0.4 on-field reviews per match) while another 24 have been factual overturns (ie offside, inside/outside penalty area)
“89.3% of on-field decisions are considered correct by Referee Operations, increased to 97.6% when including VAR interventions.
“Scottish FA Referee Operations shared these statistics to the Premiership clubs on Thursday morning as part of an update on the performance of VAR in Scotland.”
