Scotland’s chief of referees, Crawford Allan, has indicated that Willie Collum could potentially officiate Celtic versus Rangers matches despite addressing another controversy surrounding VAR. The number of incorrect calls identified by the refereeing technology has risen from three to 13 since the last round of Premiership fixtures. Five of these incidents involved Celtic and Rangers, including one where Collum overlooked a possible penalty kick as a VAR official during December’s Old Firm match, despite slow motion replays revealing Alistair Johnston’s handball in Celtic’s box.
Following Collum’s decision, subsequent analysis confirmed that the penalty wouldn’t have been awarded anyway due to Abdallah Sima being offside. However, despite this revelation, there was still considerable frustration from the Ibrox club, leading them to request that Collum be excluded from officiating Rangers matches in the future.
When questioned about the possibility of Collum overseeing a Celtic versus Rangers fixture again, Crawford didn’t dismiss it outright. He emphasized that no club would have sway over referee appointments.
He stated: “Willie Collum, like every other referee, will be considered for matches, whether in the league or cup competitions. We’ll make those decisions closer to the event.”
“At no point will a club dictate referee appointments in Scotland. The Scottish FA will appoint referees based on their experience, ability, and professionalism. We reject any demands from clubs to exclude certain referees from consideration for their matches.”
“We aim to appoint referees based on their suitability for the task at hand, regardless of club affiliations. We don’t want to sensationalize matters involving individual referees, as it impacts the reputation of all referees. It’s crucial to protect their integrity.”
“I’ve received similar requests from clubs in lower tiers recently, expressing preferences for certain referees not to officiate their matches. It seems like they’re following a trend rather than genuinely assessing the referees’ capabilities.”
