Dundee United call for Scottish football VAR reform after withdrawing from KMI panel
Introduced by the Scottish FA in September, the KMI examines major incidents from the previous week's fixtures in the SPFL; Dundee Utd suffered a controversial 1-0 defeat at Kilmarnock after Marley Watkins' winning goal was allowed to stand despite a VAR check
Thursday 6 February 2025 17:08, UK
Dundee United have called for VAR reform due to what they see as 'inconsistent interpretations of the laws of the game' and have withdrawn their representation from the Scottish FA's Key Match Incident panel due to concerns over the body’s purpose.
The Scottish FA introduced a 'Key Match Incident Review Panel' in September last year.
The five-person panel, consisting of club personnel, former referees, players, and coaches, examine major incidents from the previous week's fixtures in the Premiership or in matches in which VAR is operational in the Premier Sports Cup or Scottish Cup.
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The Panel then votes to determine whether the on-field decision and any subsequent VAR intervention were correct.
United have now pulled away their support of the KMI, underlining their concerns over the purpose and impact of the review. Dundee United notified the Scottish FA of their decision after a 1-0 defeat at Kilmarnock where Marley Watkins' controversial winning goal was allowed to stand despite a VAR check.
In a statement released on Wednesday, the club said: "This decision follows extensive discussions throughout the season with the Scottish FA Refereeing Department, where we raised concerns regarding the panel's purpose, effectiveness, and impact on Scottish football. We believe the panel's outcomes have been inconsistent with feedback provided by the Scottish FA.
"There have been instances where on-field decisions, supported by VAR and endorsed by the Scottish FA Refereeing Department, were contradicted by the KMI panel. In many cases, these disagreements appear to be based on the opinions of panel members who, for the most part, lack significant expertise in the laws of the game.
"Subsequent outcomes have been magnified by external media misrepresentations, placing undue pressure on our match officials and potentially influencing decisions in future matches. We believe changes should be made to the KMI panel or an alternative, more robust process should be used for reviewing refereeing decisions if deemed a requirement.
The Tangerines have also emphasised their discontent with VAR, calling for all clubs to come together to ensure improvements can be made to its "inconsistency".
"We have expressed our concerns to the Scottish FA regarding the inconsistent interpretations of the laws of the game arising from VAR," the club added.
"This inconsistency has, at various times, caused other William Hill Premiership clubs to express their frustration at the use of VAR, and while we are fully aware of our desire to ensure Dundee United at all times are given fair representation, we also wish to improve the overall game in Scottish football and encourage all parties to collaborate on making improvements.
"We further acknowledge that decisions will sometimes go against us - that is an inherent part of football. We also accept that referees, like everyone else, will make mistakes, and we respect the authority of match officials to make decisions - even when they may be contentious. However, as a club, we believe that the introduction of VAR has highlighted inconsistency in decision-making. As a result, scrutiny has been enhanced and refereeing decisions have become a more prominent public issue."
Participation in the KMI panel is voluntary for each club and while United say those on the panel "lack significant expertise in the laws of the game" - it is understood there is an expert who works alongside those on the panel in an advisory capacity to point out the rules.
It is also understood the SFA are always looking at ways to evolve VAR, as it has done since its introduction in October 2022.
Robinson: Make refs full-time | 'VAR not performing how we hoped'
St Mirren contacted the Scottish FA on Sunday, believing they were wrongly denied a penalty in their defeat to St Johnstone, and claim they have been hit by an "accumulation of errors".
Manager Stephen Robinson believes VAR is not performing as well as was hoped and making referees full-time could be a solution.
"Everybody makes mistakes - that has always been the case in football - VAR is meant to help those mistakes.
"First and foremost we need full-time referees, we're trying to help these guys and I think they need all the help they can get, in terms of getting the correct decisions.
"We want the best referees, we want help for referees - they do the very best with what they can. Making them full-time, giving them more help with VAR, putting more money into that area is a no-brainer for me.
"Everyone wants to vilify somebody in this world now, everyone wants to blame somebody and of course you lose games due to players' and managers' mistakes, as well as referees - but how can we help them?
"VAR was put in place to help when they made mistakes, to rectify them. It's currently not doing that to the level we all hoped. How can we make it better? People doing it full-time would be my suggestion, if you do something on a daily basis, every day, you have to be better than doing it part-time.
"People say we don't have the money but we invest a lot of money per club into VAR, so we have to find a way. It's not a case of we can't find a way, we have to find a way. We have to have the product of Scottish football being better and better decisions, better quality on the pitch as well, so together everybody has to try and do that."
