CELTIC manager Ange Postecoglou has urged the SFA to address the issues which have led to VAR causing a storm of controversy in Scottish football before the season reaches a “critical juncture”.
Fans of the Parkhead club were incensed when a Jota goal against Motherwell at Fir Park on Wednesday night was ruled out for offside despite television evidence appearing to show the Portuguese winger was onside.
The SFA released a statement yesterday admitting that one of the cameras which was positioned on the 18 yard line had not captured an “appropriate view” of the incident.
Postecoglou, whose team won the cinch Premiership match 2-1 and maintained their seven point lead over Rangers at the top of the table, has questioned if the new technology was ready to be rolled out last month.
The Greek-Australian has also warned there can be no re-run of the mistake when the title run-in heats up ahead of Celtic’s final match before the World Cup break against Ross County at home this afternoon.
“We won the game on Wednesday night so it was not an issue,” he said. “They are saying they have evidence that Jota was offside. That is fine.
“Look human beings are involved and you have to allow for human error. But the fact is the camera wasn’t pointing towards where it should have been. But when there is a decision at a critical juncture in the season do they have the evidence to support the decision?
“Okay, they have introduced it so let’s get on with it. But don’t make it the star of the show. I don’t think it helps anyone – referees, clubs, players or supporters – to have VAR as the focus of the discussion. For me, it is about the impact that it has on the game.”
Postecoglou added: “For me, it is not about the decisions. You are always going to get decisions that you perhaps don’t agree with. Our focus is on the process.
“We had a whole week of fanfare before it got introduced. But VAR is not a new thing. We have had it in Australia for three or four years now. It has been about for quite a while now. Our referees have used it in Europe in the past.
“Were we ready? They should have been prepared and ready. They said there might be teething problems. I don’t know why. As I said, it has been around for years. If they were not ready to start it then why not wait until they were ready?”
Meanwhile, Postecoglou has stressed that Sead Haksabanovic will be travelling with Celtic to Australia for the Sydney Super Cup this month despite the winger being named in the Montenegro squad for their friendlies against Slovakia and Slovenia.
Scotland manager Steve Clarke this week expressed his disappointment that the Scottish champions’ players would not be involved in his side’s match against Turkey because of their commitments Down Under.
“Everyone who isn’t going to the World Cup is going to Australia with us,” said Postecoglou. “It is not an issue. FIFA have allowed clubs to make their own decisions because it is not an officially recognised international window and we have made our own decision as a club. Sead will be coming to Australia with us.”
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