A recent Scottish FA panel review has found that a total of four errors were made by match officials in the Scottish Premiership this past week, marking the highest number of mistakes recorded this season.
St Mirren suffered the most from these errors, with two incorrect decisions going against them during their 2-0 defeat to Dundee United at Tannadice. In addition, it was noted that Rangers were wrongly denied a penalty in their 1-0 victory over St Johnstone, while Aberdeen should have had a player sent off in their 1-1 draw against Hearts.
However, the panel did rule that the decision to disallow a Celtic goal in their 1-0 win over Aberdeen at Pittodrie was correct, as Daizen Meada was penalised for a foul on goalkeeper Ross Doohan. The report stated that the on-field decision was supported unanimously and that the whistle had been blown before the goal was scored, making it impossible for VAR to intervene.
The Key Match Incident panel, comprised of five individuals with expertise in Scottish football, convenes weekly to review major incidents from the previous weekend’s matches. Their latest report covered games from the weekend of November 30 and December 1, as well as the midweek fixtures on December 4.
The panel identified two major errors in the Dundee United vs. St Mirren match, including a challenge by Dundee United goalkeeper Jack Walton on St Mirren’s Toyosi Olusanya, which was deemed deserving of a red card despite only receiving a yellow. St Mirren defender Marcus Fraser’s red card was also rescinded following a tribunal hearing, as the decision to upgrade his yellow card to a red was determined to be a mistake.
Overall, the panel’s findings shed light on the importance of VAR intervention and correct officiating in Scottish Premiership matches to ensure fair play and accurate decision-making.
However, despite St Mirren manager Stephen Robinson’s protests, the panel upheld the penalty award as correct. Four out of five panel members agreed that the on-field decision of a penalty kick was the right call, while one member felt that the holding was not severe enough and that VAR should have stepped in to suggest overturning the penalty.
On the flip side, Rangers were left feeling hard done by after VAR failed to intervene in a missed handball by St Johnstone defender Jack Sanders in the 25th minute of the match against McDiarmid Park. The majority of the panel (3:2) deemed the on-field decision incorrect and believed that VAR should have recommended a penalty for the handball. Rangers eventually secured a win with a second-half own goal by Jason Holt.
Another controversial moment came when Aberdeen defender Jack Milne escaped a red card for a challenge on Hearts midfielder Beni Baningime in the 89th minute. Referee Kevin Clancy deemed the challenge legal, and a VAR review did not result in any punishment. However, the majority of the SFA’s KMI panel (4:1) disagreed with this decision and believed that VAR should have recommended a red card for the dangerous challenge. One panelist, however, felt that VAR was right not to intervene for a red card due to the low point of contact.
