UEFA has announced the referee lineup for this summer’s European Championships in Germany, and no Scottish officials have been selected.
Ninety match officials from different European countries, including referees and VAR teams, have been selected by the European football governing body.
Prominent SFA referees like Willie Collum, John Beaton, Don Robertson, and Kevin Clancy will not be taking part because there are no Scottish referees on the list. This ruling brings to light persistent worries about how Scotland’s adoption of VAR will affect Scottish referees’ access to global opportunities.
Before VAR was implemented, former referee Charlie Richmond made remarks about the difficulties Scottish officials encountered as a result of their lack of exposure to and training in VAR.
He made the point that even seasoned referees like Bobby Madden have limitations and that giving Scotland’s referees access to VAR would present opportunities.
“You won’t see our guys [referees] going abroad if we don’t get in line and start using the VAR system in Scotland,” Richmond stated to the Scotsman in 2019.
“That was made clear when Bobby Madden recently watched Bayern Munich vs. Red Star Belgrade in the Champions League.
“Only Bobby and Willie Collum have received VAR training, so the VAR officials were flown in from Holland.
“It was the same when Willie covered Juventus against Bayer Leverkusen – the VAR officials came from Spain.
Therefore, we are unable to send a full team of six Scottish referees to a Champions League match. Thus, our referees will be excluded from the more significant games because FIFA will only allow teams consisting of six players to collaborate.
“VAR is being used in the Europa League starting with the final 32, and I don’t think our players will be playing. Next year at the European Championships, it will remain unchanged.
“You only need to go back a few years to see that Craig Thomson covered Dortmund vs. Malaga in the second leg of the Champions League quarterfinal. Due to the lack of fully qualified Scottish VAR officials, that will not occur at this time.
“Bobby is at a very important time in his career and he wants to go up to the next level and become one of the elite. But if he’s not getting the support of the SFA effectively he won’t make that jump.”
Is it reasonable to say that VAR has not had the desired effect on officials and teams?
GET MORE NEWS HERE