VAR: A Double-Edged Sword for Referees, Says Celtic Manager Martin O'Neill
Martin O'Neill, the Celtic manager, has expressed his frustration with the video assistant referee (VAR) system, calling it "debilitating" for on-field officials. He criticized the Scottish FA's appeal process as "worthless," highlighting a recent instance where Celtic's bid to overturn Auston Trusty's red card was denied.
The incident in question occurred during a match against Hibernian, where Trusty was dismissed after a review of his contact with Jamie McGrath during a corner kick. O'Neill found the situation perplexing, especially the involvement of VAR.
"I thought the appeals in this day and age are seemingly worthless," O'Neill said in a post-game interview. "But when I got the details from the club, I realized that the referee had indeed seen the incident. It's not like he missed it."
O'Neill then described a sequence of events that raised his concerns: "A very excited VAR official then instructed the referee to 'delay, delay, delay.' When asked, the official said he would speak to the players. But then, he had to go over and change his mind, which is absurd."
During a press conference in Germany, where Celtic was playing the second leg of their Europa League playoff against Stuttgart, O'Neill made a bold statement: "VAR, as it stands, will eventually replace the need for referees."
He continued, "VAR officials are essentially re-refereeing matches, which is a nonsense. It's acceptable if they miss a significant incident that requires review. However, when a referee has already seen the incident, it's disheartening to have VAR officials contradict their decision, saying, 'You didn't see that, you saw something else.'"
O'Neill concluded, "This process is debilitating for the referee, and it needs to be addressed."
