Hearts speak out on VAR, Scottish referee standards and the football fan experience

Hearts chief executive Andrew McKinlay today called for improved refereeing standards, more accurate VAR calls and a better fan experience in Scottish football. Admitting the current system needs attention following a series of officiating errors and questionable decisions during matches, McKinlay said everybody is suffering.

Since VAR was introduced in the Scottish Premiership in October 2022, a long list of mistakes have occurred and forced the Scottish Football Association to apologise to clubs affected. Supporters are frustrated by delays of several minutes during games while VAR analyse incidents, but even afterwards there are inconsistent decisions being made.

Top-flight clubs pay for VAR technology in league games, and the system is then optional for cup matches. McKinlay, who sits on the Scottish FA board, spoke openly about refereeing and VAR and stressed something must change to improve the process and appease fans. He suggested a public consultation may have been better before VAR was implemented.

“Looking back, maybe we should have come to the fans,” he acknowledged. “But I think most people at the time thought it was the right thing to do. No-one knew what the fan experience was going to be like. I think it's the one thing where the fan experience has been disappointing. But there are more decisions that are right. People say: ‘Well, how is that?’ Well, it's a fact.

“Let's talk about the one at Ibrox two weeks ago [Rangers v Livingston]. I was dumbfounded that the handball, the ref didn't give it. If we didn't have VAR, then it wouldn’t have been given as a penalty either. So VAR should have given it. What it is emphasising is you've got two bites at the cherry and you're still getting it wrong sometimes. I think that is concerning.

“But that to me is not VAR. That is entirely around the standard of the refereeing and getting those decisions right. The fan experience, I agree, has been [poor]. We had conversations at the beginning of the season with clubs and we are looking at ways. What they do down south where the refs now speak, I think we'll see those things coming.

“As I said, when I was asked about goal line technology, it all becomes a cost. So I don't know if we'd gone to the fans what would have happened. That's a much bigger question to me with us being a fan-owned club. What are decisions that we should go [to fans]? There will be a huge debate on that. I do look back at that one and think maybe we should have.

“Interestingly enough, there was only one club of the 42 that voted against it and that was Morton - and they were the ones that would put it to their fan vote. Now Morton, I don't think as far as I'm aware, have ever actually used VAR. So it's quite an interesting one. I don't think that vote, as I understand it, was ever about the fan experience because I think we only really have understood the fan experience since it happened.”

Clubs have the power to change the situation given they fund the VAR technology. McKinlay said better referee calls and a more enjoyable fan experience should be paramount. “I think so. You know, the clubs could suddenly turn around and decide because it was clubs that pay for it,” he explained, adding that Hearts pay a lower amount this season after finishing seventh in last year’s Premiership.

“One of the few advantages of finishing seventh is you pay less than if you finish third in the league. That’s certainly not something that I want to get excited about,” remarked McKinlay. “I want to finish first and pay the biggest chunk of it. I think training is a big thing, and I think what we have seen a bit of is since VAR came in is there are more dedicated VAR.

“What you might find is some of the current referees as they retire might become dedicated VARs, but they've got to get the decisions right. I think the most frustrating one for me - I don't know about others - is we still just don't seem to have enough clarity on handball. And I think that's the one that really perplexes everyone.

“We can all give numerous examples where we think: ‘How is that not given? I think we get less of the: ‘How was that given now?’ Although there was one, I think, was it earlier in the season? Celtic got one at Kilmarnock. That was kind of similar to last week [Hearts against Kilmarnock] where the guy played it off himself. The difference with Kilmarnock one is that the handball at Celtic stopped the ball going on target.

“That one last week - was it stopping the ball going on target? There was a discussion about the target. My argument on that was: ‘Well, it didn't because it bounced off another player first.’ But again, there we are. We're all having a debate about it. I suspect they'll say: ‘Well, there's guidance. It's all very clear.’ But I don't find it clear.”

Tweaking the rules may be the answer to confusion over the handball rule. Many people in football feel the rule would be clearer if the word ‘deliberate’ was included somewhere. “Maybe,” replied McKinlay. “Was the word previously ‘intentional’? You start to get into semantics here, but arguably you only know someone's intent or whether it was deliberate if you can get inside their head. So it still becomes quite a grey area. I just think they could do some things that are fair.

“I mean, each season the referees’ department comes in to speak to the first team and all the players. They give examples. Then you hear through the season - not necessarily us - but I think a couple of times this season I've heard managers say that wasn't what we were told at the beginning of the season. Now, I don't know if that's true or not, but I think just clarity on these things would be helpful. I do agree that the in-stadium experience is something that we need to improve and hopefully it will improve as time goes on.”