VAR: Scottish Premiership to introduce video technology after crucial vote

VAR will be introduced in the Scottish Premiership from December; 41 of the 42 Scottish Professional Football League clubs voted in favour of the technology; top-flight clubs will cover the £1.2m cost each season; VAR also set to be used in the League Cup semi-finals and final

By Alison Conroy & Sahil Jaidka

Referee John Beaton demonstrates how VAR would be used in Scottish football when it is introduced

Video Assistant Referees will be introduced in the Scottish Premiership from the middle of next season.

Despite the system only being implemented in the top flight, all 42 Scottish Professional Football League clubs voted on the proposal via e-mail on Tuesday, with 41 in favour.

The technology will be implemented after December's World Cup in Qatar, with Premiership clubs bearing the £1.2m per season cost on a sliding scale.

VAR is also set to be introduced in the League Cup semi-finals and final in January and February of next year, with further discussions planned regarding its use during earlier rounds in future seasons.

The system will see a minimum of six manned cameras at each game to aid a selection of video assistant referees who are all current or recently retired Category 1 officials.

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Luke Shanley explains all the details after SPFL clubs vote in favour of VAR being introduced in the Scottish Premiership from December of next season, after the World Cup.

Neil Doncaster, chief executive of the SPFL, said: "The SPFL chose not to be an early adopter of VAR technology to allow time for teething issues to be ironed out by those leagues who adopted VAR early.

"I believe this was the right decision and that VAR will help referees to ensure tight decisions are more often the right ones and will support a higher standard and more consistent level of decision-making.

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"Scottish referees are fully on-board with this innovation and have been overwhelmingly supportive about the introduction of VAR during our consultation process with our partners at the Scottish FA."

SPFL chief Neil Doncaster discusses the process to vote in VAR, the costs, dates and more before it is introduced in December in the Scottish Premiership

Ian Maxwell, Scottish FA chief executive, added: "Throughout the consultation process we were encouraged that the principle of VAR was supported by clubs, players, coaches and match officials.

"The benefits of VAR are clear and with the commitment of the Scottish FA, SPFL and now the approval of the league's 42 member clubs, we can now look forward to continuing the implementation process with a view to VAR being a key part of Scottish football's future."

A number of VAR trials have already taken place at youth matches in recent weeks, while the Scottish FA's head of refereeing operations Crawford Allan has previously insisted his officials are ahead of schedule in their preparations.

"From a refereeing perspective, whenever VAR comes in we will be ready," he told Sky Sports News.

Image: SFA head of refereeing operations Crawford Allan has backed the introduction of VAR

"We've been doing our training, and since December, we are actually slightly ahead of where we thought we would be.

"In terms of key decision-making, referees get on average 92 or 93 per cent of the key decisions correct and it's been proven that VAR takes that up to 99 per cent.

"You're never going to get the 100 and football will always be about opinions, but that 99, I'm sure we'd all agree, is better than the 92 or 93 per cent at the moment."

How did the vote go?

Despite VAR only being used in the top flight, all 42 SPFL clubs were asked to vote at the general meeting.

Several Premiership clubs had already publicly backed the idea but the motion was only formally passed on Tuesday after all but one Championship side voted in favour.

The minimum threshold required was 75 per cent of clubs in the Premiership and Championship, plus three-quarters of League One and Two sides combined.

What will VAR be used for?

Image: VAR will be used in the Scottish Premiership next season

We have seen VAR implemented all over the world across many different leagues so you might know what to expect.

With extra referees reviewing clear and obvious errors, ultimately it is there to give officials more support and ensure any clear and obvious errors are rectified.

The SFA system will be identical to the one used by football's world governing body, FIFA, with the principle of "minimum interference, maximum benefit".

In addition, baselines set out by FIFA for when a review may take place are limited to penalties, red cards, goal situations and any case of mistaken identity.

Who will pay for it?

VAR is expected to cost around £1.2m per season and Premiership clubs will pay for the technology with each club's share depending on their final league position.

The Premiership winners will pay approximately £195k per season, with a sliding scale to the 12th club, who would pay around £67k.

The training for officials will however has been carried out by the SFA, with Allan adding that when it comes to allocating funds for VAR, it should be looked upon as an investment rather than a cost.

"Cost is an interesting one. If I was moving Scottish football forward - and I am part of the football family - I'd like to think of it as an investment in Scottish football rather than a cost," he said.

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