Yesterday, the SFA announced Head of Referee Operations, Crawford Allan, will leave the position at the end of the season. The statement was tellingly lengthy and confirmed a few areas of concern. Specifically, the departure “will effect a review of the existing role and remit to reflect the demands placed on it by the introduction and optimisation of VAR.”
VAR in Scotland was plagued by poor preparation ahead of its introduction in 2022. Referee guidance was inappropriate and led to a spike in penalties from handball offences that perplexed most observers.
The reset button was pressed during the World Cup break in November and December 2022, following which referee guidance seemed to flip to an anything goes handball rule inside the box. For some.
Poor preparation, no apparent monitoring and revision strategy, then an over-compensation when guidance was changed, all led to a sense that the Head of Referee Operations was built for simpler times. This is Scotland, though, so poor performance did not lead to immediate consequences. It looks like Allen was given time to get fixed up elsewhere. This is how The System works.
SFA chief exec, Ian Maxwell, dammed with faint praise. “The introduction of VAR has been a thankless task”. Diplomatically put, but it need not have been so thankless. Maxwell went on to say, “the VAR processes need to improve”, and holds what you and I could interpret as a white flag when it comes to “subjective areas such as the handball law.”
Allan himself appears to accept his key failure, “VAR is only one aspect of the role, albeit one that can overshadow the positive strides we have taken forward.” So, VAR under the outgoing head was clearly not a positive stride forward.
A thankless task it may be but get the basics right. Allowing VAR cameras to double as B-video for broadcasters was an enormous mistake, not repeated anywhere else in Europe, and led to a camera focussing on the dugout area, instead of watching the offside line when Jota scored at Fir Park. Fuelling the fire, VAR disallowed the goal, despite not having the evidence. Allan should have resigned the following morning for creating impossible circumstances for his officials.
His personal moment in the limelight came a year before VAR. Celtic defeated Hearts 1-0 with a Kyogo goal, which, according to Allen on BBC Radio Scotland, should probably have been flagged for offside. He may be right, it was a tight call, but there was no definitive camera angle, so all we can rely on to truly inform us is out heart’s desire.
The incident was the only time he publicly cut across his officials and came at a time when Ange Postecoglou’s side were metamorphosising from a midtable disaster into table toppers. Celtic fans were rightly concerned that the SFA had regressed to their old ways.
What comes next is the important question. Newco have openly been locked in a battle for control of the SPFL for some years; lobbying happens and works. The Head of Referee Operations position is not the best renumerated position at the SFA but it is its most influential. We should be concerned. Maybe I should apply.
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Calling B78
A wee article written by a pal of mine on Celtic Star,referencing to 2 EC semis of 72 & 74.
https://thecelticstar.com/there-was-just-one-thing-missing-and-that-was-celtic/
HH
GGH
He is my guitar hero. With Hendrix, Clapton, Page, Hubert Sumlin, Peter Green, etc
Feck sake I’ve got some amount of guitar heroes. 😳
Won’t do the hun any good. We shall thrash them on every meeting this season. Easy Peasy.
That is the spirit right there! ^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Is anyone thinking about a trip to Notre Dame to see the bhoys on July 27th?
MNCELT
Looking at NC game as I have team members down there but would love to do the Notre Dame one as well.
serious point – why dont they leave the royals alone.
kate comes out, does a walkabout with wills, gets video and pictures taken, and the tin foil nutjobs still say thats not her, and that is photoshopped, ffs, give them peace.
https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/03/19/14/82640893-13214787-image-m-73_1710859948342.jpg
Howdy Aipple – Good news. I’m planning to go to this one, so we’ll sync up nearer the time.
SAINT STIVS on 19TH MARCH 2024 5:08 PM
serious point – why dont they leave the royals alone.
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££££££££££
Excellent article Pablo.
Respect
“What comes next is the important question. Newco have openly been locked in a battle for control of the SPFL for some years; lobbying happens and works. The Head of Referee Operations position is not the best renumerated position at the SFA but it is its most influential. We should be concerned. Maybe I should apply”
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Ease off on the concern.
SFA will want to put someone in place early summer.
IF (big if) we win the league ….
Speak to the SFA privately (VERY privately) and let them know we’ll pull VAR funding if they appoint someone we don’t like.
Rationale?
If we win the league, there’s a good chance Sevco will not qualify for the expanded Champions League.
If we win the league this season we will have a tremendous chance of winning next season too.
Sevco will not be able to fund Inclement’s vision.
We will never be as bad as we were this season.
Injury clear ups, new players and Brendan enjoying the control he desires?
We’ll be much better than Sevco.
So, the penalties and tight offside calls we don’t get next (VAR-less) season won’t matter.
There’s also the incidental benefit of witnessing a bunch of freemasons being subjected to take a pay cut !!!!
🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔
On the wider note I’ve no doubt there are technical and practical challenges associated with VAR.
Regardless, the implementation has been shambolic.
It has shone a light on the lack of capability in the SFA ranks.
VAR only needs to answer three questions.
Without re-refereeing the game remotely
1. Was it offside?
2. Was it a penalty?
3. Was it a red card?
Not complicated.
Would love to link up with some fellow US Celts.
I will be driving the Wilson’s double decker. leaving the Cross Keys fae Wishy Cross in June.
Haven’t quite figured out the water part yet. nor found any trace of the fenian submarine from the Beatles song we used to sing back in the day:))_
Canny wait to see the bhoys.
Sean
We all live in a Fenian hoosin scheme
MNCELT
Happy days!
Celtic could play an entire team of arm amputees
Var would still find a handball
That is the problem
Iwata handball, not looking at the ball
Penalty
St johnston player handles the ball on the line and stops a goal
No penalty
Both were unintentional
in both instances, neither player could really do anything about it
But var looks at it differently
wonder if their is a league table of var inspections per game……
And also the amount of time wasted on var decisions on each game
(they seem to spend an awful lot of time on ours – especially when we score)
I would imagine we would top the table on both
And to add another layer
If you can take the cumulative amount of time VAR took to makes decisions
The took the injury time added for each half
And subtracted them
Celtic would be top of that table too
Its insidious
The biggest failing for me is the statement that reviews take place for key clear and obvious errors.
The only criteria is simply how can we award against Celtic.
Hoopy Birthday St. Stivs
I firmly believe that the bias towards the huns can shown in the stats
If you analyses all of the stats for the full league for the last 3 years
Last 5 years
Last 10 and last 20 years
It will show an institutional bias against Celtic and for the huns
That Celtic have not employed someone to go thru the stats…….
And to take that a stage further
Analyse the top leagues in spain, france italy and england
Is there an anomaly
If so why
Defo not paranoid
CLUNKS on 19TH MARCH 2024 5:43 PM
I firmly believe that the bias towards the huns can shown in the stats…
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A pattern of assistance as Alan Morrison, of the excellent huddle breakdown and Celtic by numbers, has coined it (based on his analysis, for all to see).
The thing is with their bias is the more you try to cover it up, the more obvious it becomes.
When I left Wishy years ago, I never intended to leave forever. I interviewed for a job in town one time and they asked me only 3 questions:
1. Where did you go to School = St. Aidan’s High School
2. Previous Employer= Celtic Football Club
3. Religion= Right Catholic, at the time!
Next statement, you don’t have the necessary requirements for the job. I hope things have changed since the early 90s.but not in football, or how it is officiated,buth then again, we are all paranoid :)))
Sean
ZIGGYDOC1 on 19TH MARCH 2024 5:59 PM
Aye
ZIGGYDOC1
Then Celtic only need to reach out and expand the analysis
It’s there
It’s in the stats
Especially when you include the top leagues over a long enough period of time
As in 5, 10 or 15 years
Let me get this straight
VAR was brought in to address clear and obvious errors…
Spends all its’ time looking for millimetres offside, and a handball where it suits
or not, also when it suits
Axel got it right
Ye get what ye pay for
And we do
Evening all.
St Stivs
Many happy returns.
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BIGRAILROADBLUES on 19TH MARCH 2024 12:05 PM
Good afternoon all from the Black Bull, High Street.
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You actually went back there ?
I have had my suspicions about you. :)
Test.
ye never know
https://philmacgiollabhain.ie/2024/03/19/does-desmond-finally-have-their-number/#more-34003
FOURSTONECOPPI
Again, am psychic
The numbers over a long enough period of time, with a large enough database
Will be irrefutable
Hope phil macs recent post is on the money
He lost me at ‘forensic ‘ re Nicholson…..
Oh good Laurie fae Dennistoun is oan noo….
https://twitter.com/Zeshankenzo/status/1764699959218364917
Happy birthday St Stivs.
40 years young.🍻
D. :)
Bada
“Michael Nicholson has a diverse work experience in the legal field and football industry. Michael began their career in 1998 as a Solicitor at Harper Macleod LLP and eventually became a Partner in 2002.
In 2013, they joined Celtic plc as the Company Secretary before moving on to become the Director of Legal and Football Affairs at Celtic Football Club in 2019.
Additionally, they served as an Arbitrator at the Court of Arbitration for Sport in 2019. Previously, they held a position as a Council Member at The Law Society of Scotland from 2012 to 2013.”
FF have 3 pages and115 comments on the Forest points deduction.All having their say about cheating,and what should happen.
Quite a lot of the time,their total lack of awareness,and irony,stuns me.
CLUNKS on 19TH MARCH 2024 8:05 PM
Bada
“Michael Nicholson has a diverse work experience in the legal field and football industry. Michael began their career in 1998 as a Solicitor at Harper Macleod LLP and eventually became a Partner in 2002.
In 2013, they joined Celtic plc as the Company Secretary before moving on to become the Director of Legal and Football Affairs at Celtic Football Club in 2019.
Additionally, they served as an Arbitrator at the Court of Arbitration for Sport in 2019. Previously, they held a position as a Council Member at The Law Society of Scotland from 2012 to 2013.”
He hides it well…..
Apple & MNCelt
Trying to get tickets for the Notre Dame match. It’s a 30min drive for me. My family are over the moon.
Apparently Chelsea have the tickets on sale already for their tour.
Bada
Maybe
We are about to see….