It took years of debate and months of development for VAR to be introduced to the Premiership, followed by weeks of worry over whether Scotland was ready for it. It needed only four minutes at Fir Park to prove its worth.
The retraction of the offside call against Bojan Miovski did not disrupt the tempo of the match inordinately, and most importantly it ensured the correct outcome was eventually reached. This was the definition of the clear and obvious error for whose remedy the system was invented.
Even in real-time, it felt like one of those cases where an onrushing striker and static defender give a misleading perception of where each had started, and it was no surprise when replay proved Miovski had been a yard onside.
Had his flag been raised last week, Paul O’Neill would have been in for heavy criticism for making such an awful, potentially game-changing, mess of his only job.
Immediate review removes the consequence, and thus may also perhaps reduce the flak which flies officials’ way and the pressure which the anticipation of it must apply.
So must it be hoped, for with so many decisions not subject to the VAR safety net, the game will need it to imbue referees with confidence, and not complacency.
In that spirit of rapprochement, we should not omit to acknowledge the assistant for adapting to the new procedures quickly enough to hold back his flag until after Miovski had expertly deposited the ball into the net. His instincts, honed over years running Scotland’s VAR-less lines, will have been shouting for it to be raised as soon as they believed they’d seen an offence, but waiting at least made it a mistake which could be fixed.
A unifying force in a game too often riven? Decision pending.
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