Former Rangers manager Ally McCoist has demanded that VAR be scrapped in Scottish football, warning that the sport will continue to be a 'laughing stock' if the technology remains in place. His comments follow a highly contentious penalty decision that handed Celtic a dramatic 3-2 victory over Motherwell, moving them within a point of league leaders Hearts ahead of the title decider.
Controversial penalty decision
The incident occurred nine minutes into stoppage time at Fir Park, when referee John Beaton was called to the monitor by video assistant Andrew Dallas. Motherwell midfielder Sam Nicholson was penalised for handball after a cross from Celtic's Auston Trusty. Replays showed Nicholson's arm raised near his forehead, but Motherwell boss Jens Berthel Askou insisted the arm was pushed into that position by contact with Trusty. Askou described it as 'one of the worst decisions I have ever seen'. Hearts manager Derek McInnes called the decision 'disgusting'.
McCoist's reaction
Speaking on talkSPORT, McCoist said: 'It was a horrendous decision that has, once again, embarrassed Scottish football. If anything good has come out of it, it was that awful a decision that the whole country is talking about it. We must get rid of VAR, particularly in Scotland. Because instead of helping officials, it's making us look like absolute clowns. We are a laughing stock.'
Widespread criticism
Gary Lineker posted on X: 'This might be the worst VAR decision I've seen (and there's a lot of competition). Extraordinary given the significance.' Former Sky Sports presenter Jeff Stelling branded it 'embarrassing for Scottish football', while ex-Scotland international Don Hutchison called it 'one of the worst decisions of all time'. The Foundation of Hearts expressed 'extreme concerns', and Labour MP Ian Murray, a key figure in the club's fan-ownership, said on X: 'Ok SFA you've made your point. Bizarrely all the controversial decisions went in Celtic's favour. Surely by law of averages at least one would go against them.'
Motherwell director's view
Motherwell director Greg Anderson, representing the Well Society fan-ownership group, said: 'Tools are only useful if you know how to use them. If you don't, they can be very dangerous. Time to rethink how we are using them or if we should be using them in Scottish football at all.'
Referee expert analysis
Former SFA referee Steve Conroy argued VAR should not have intervened. He told BBC Radio Scotland: 'This is an indication of a systemic failure from the SFA in how we deal with VAR. They have not got to grips with it. The same mistakes happen every week, the same officials are making these mistakes.'
Defence of VAR
Former Celtic striker Chris Sutton defended the decision, claiming it showed why VAR was introduced. He posted on X: 'The reaction from many high profile people is way over the top. John Beaton was advised to go to the monitor and saw that the ball hit the arm in an unnatural position. Bottom line is people would hate to see Celtic win the title again and that is all.'
