Rangers have finally gotten their wish as the use of video assistant referees (VAR) is set to be introduced in Scotland midway through next season.
The Ibrox side have been amongst the biggest advocates of the refereeing technology which well help the nation’s under-fire whistlers get the big decisions correct.
In a controversial vote involving all 42 member clubs of the SPFL – this despite the fact only the Premiership will use VAR – the clubs near unanimously agreed to adopt the technology.
All but one club voted for the introduction of VAR in Scotland with the technology to be launched after the World Cup in Qatar this December.
This means that VAR will be introduced midway through the season as the Scottish Premiership takes a break for the competition.
Expected to cost £1.2m, VAR will now be installed at all the Scottish Premiership stadia with Scotland using the Hawkeye Innovations system, which is already in use in the Premier League down south.
The cost will be split between the member clubs with the Scottish Premiership winner paying approximately £195k with a sliding scale reducing depending on league position.
The team that finishes 12th will pay around £67k.
SPFL chief executive Neil Doncaster told the SPFL website:
“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.
“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.”
Scottish FA chief executive Ian Maxwell also had this to say about plans to introduce VAR in Scotland:
“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.”
Meanwhile, one Rangers star deserves a new contract for his on and off pitch contributions.