SPFL Transparency is Useless Without Radical Reform

When Willie Collum took the hot seat on Wednesday in a Q&A session about the most contentious SPFL VAR decisions of August, it marked a shift in how Scottish football’s refereeing body is willing to be scrutinised. For many, this is a breath of fresh air.

Collum, the newly-appointed head of referees, held his hands up and admitted mistakes that have been infuriating fans for years—none more so than that shocking decision in Celtic’s opening day clash against Kilmarnock.

The incident in question? Matt O’Riley’s cheeky free kick dink over the Kilmarnock wall led to Kyogo Furuhashi racing for the ball, only to be wiped out by a charging goalkeeper, Robby McGorie. The referee didn’t award a penalty—fair enough, he couldn’t see it from behind the wall. But when VAR reviewed the clip, Greg Aitken somehow concluded the goalkeeper never moved—like we’d all agreed to ignore observable reality for the day. If only Celtic fans had that luxury, we’d blissfully sail through these decisions without a care in the world.

The footage was released, and Collum owned up to the error. Aitken’s call wasn’t just incorrect, it was incomprehensible. The goalkeeper absolutely moved, and cleaned out is putting it mildly. This wasn’t a bump in the box; it was a tactical foul deserving of a penalty. Thankfully, it didn’t impact the game—Celtic won regardless—but Collum’s admission that referees are trained to give penalties in this exact scenario makes the call all the more frustrating. When you’re staring at the footage from multiple angles in slow motion, there’s nowhere to hide.

And here’s the crux of the issue—yes, this transparency is welcome. Willie Collum deserves credit for coming forward, for allowing the public a glimpse into the referee’s booth, where the pressures of VAR decisions play out. But let’s be real—he’s not getting a gold star for simply owning up to errors. This new format, where he will explain contentious decisions after the fact, will quickly become infuriating if it’s just a monthly reel of “yep, we got that wrong too.” The purpose of VAR was to eliminate these errors, not give us a platform to apologise for them politely.

So, what’s being done about it? What’s the plan to elevate our referees beyond a standard where blatant errors—decisions that could swing the outcome of a Game—are still being made, even with all the tools at their disposal? VAR was meant to remove the bulk of the controversy, yet here we are, still talking about wrong decisions. Celtic not being awarded that penalty is just one of many. Look at Rangers’ recent match, where a goal stood despite an illegal tackle in the build-up. How much leeway are we giving these officials, who have the benefit of replays, slow motion, and different angles, yet still miss calls a Sunday League ref could spot?

Collum’s transparency will be a futile exercise if it doesn’t lead to improvements. There have to be consequences, there has to be a radical change in approach to the way we teach and execute, otherwise, what’s the point? If we’re to believe that this new approach is just, “well, if we make mistakes, we’ll talk about them now,” but without a plan to stop the mistakes, Scottish Football will remain in the same purgatory of incomPetence. No amount of youtube shows will be viewed as acceptable.

Every Day Is a School Day

The one positive we can take from this is the insight into what referees are actually saying on the pitch. It’s a fascinating peek behind the curtain. There’s an especially interesting clip doing the rounds on social media, featuring referee Ross Hardie keeping up with Rangers’ Tom Lawrence as he chases down a Ross County player. Hardie can be heard yelling, “Don’t tackle, Tom! Don’t tackle, Tom!”—a moment that’s left me and fans bemused. Why on earth is the ref almost coaching the player mid-run? Is this some new level of officiating where they give live instructions?

Fair play to the referee in this clip, he’s talking to Tom Lawrence like a true teammate pic.twitter.com/iA2nWL6LOI

— . (@NotMatondoProp) September 11, 2024

To be fair, former referees have since come forward to explain that this is actually common practice. Referees, it seems, aren’t just there to blow the whistle—they’re also trying to protect players from themselves. They give little verbal nudges to keep the Game flowing, to avoid unnecessary fouls or injuries. I’ll admit, when I first heard it, I was half-expecting Hardie to start dishing out tactical advice: “Tom, lad, make the overlap and swing it in, there’s space on the left!”

Still, it doesn’t help optics that Hardie got the subsequent decision wrong after Lawrence did make the tackle, and incorrectly claimed he got the ball. It’s a small reminder that while the human side of officiating is sometimes helpful, it’s the basics that still need work. Perhaps we’ll hear more snipPets like this as the season progresses, giving us a deeper understanding of the referee-player relationship.

But at the end of the day, the focus has to remain on improving the quality of officiating, not just offering explanations after the fact. Fans want to see action, not apologies. Otherwise, we’re just being treated to a monthly highlight reel of “what went wrong,” without any real hope that it’ll get better. It’s time for Scottish referees to show they can rise to the occasion, and not just talk about where they’ve fallen short.

@craigcelt