Hearts midfielder Orestis Kiomourtzoglou reckons VAR is ‘destroying’ Scottish football.

The Gorgie side were involved in an incident-packed draw with Livingston before the World Cup break that led to both managers Robbie Neilson and Davie Martindale hitting out at the refereeing system.

Hearts boss Neilson even labelled VAR as a ‘shambles’ in a game that was constantly interrupted by confusing delays.

The refereeing aid has also been criticised by other Premiership managers and Kiomourtzoglou admits he is not a fan.

He said: “With VAR, I think it maybe destroys a little bit of Scottish football.

“Because of the speed I think you'll maybe see a lot more penalties and red cards. 

“But okay, it's only five games into it. It takes a bit of time for it to get better.

“I don't really have an opinion on it because what difference would it make? It's not going to change it. I'm not the guy who makes the rules, those are the people above us. We just have to play and accept what comes in football.

“It's quite frustrating just standing around. Also, at the end of the first half against Livingston I'm sure we could have got at least one penalty for handball. 

“The ref says he's checking it and it takes two minutes when it's quite clear there's a hand on the ball. But you have to trust the referee when he says he's adding the time on at the end. 

“As players we just have to accept it because we can't change anything.”

The 24-year-old joined Hearts from Dutch side Heracles in the summer and has started all but two of his 11 outings.

Kiomourtzoglou, however, believes there will be more to come from him when the season gets back underway next month.

He added: “I can improve, of course. Everyone can improve, all the time. But I'll be looking to come back from the holiday and play a bit better.

“I think I've played quite okay, otherwise I wouldn't have been playing so much. Because otherwise the coach would be saying "ah, not so good" and then I'd be sitting on the bench.

“It's difficult because I don't like to talk so much about myself. I like other guys to talk about me. I'm not the boss, it's the gaffer and he's the one who decides to play us.

“We've all been given an individual programme to train by ourselves in terms of recovering the body. I'm looking to keep my head clear, come back fresh and give everything between now and the end of the season.”