Neil Critchley questions VAR as he reveals his view on Hearts' penalty claim v Rangers
Last Sunday’s incident at Tynecastle caused controversy
Hearts head coach Neil Critchley took issue with VAR whilst declaring that his team should have been awarded a penalty against Rangers last weekend. The Englishman is no fan of the new football technology and feels it removes important emotions during games when goals cannot be properly celebrated because of long delays.
He also questioned the decision-making around the 61st minute of Hearts’ 3-1 defeat by Rangers at Tynecastle Park on Sunday. With the scoreline at 1-1, the Hearts striker James Wilson was bundled over inside the penalty area by visiting defender Clinton Nsiala. Referee John Beaton allowed play to continue and Rangers quickly mounted an attack to score through Vaclav Cerny.
VAR did not intervene and Hearts were left disgruntled. The Scottish Football Association reviewed the incident this week and admitted that a penalty-kick should have been given.
“It goes well beyond me and everyone else will have an opinion,” Critchley said when speaking in general about VAR. “Technology is going forward and the game's probably going only one way. You probably class me as a bit of a romanticist but I just think the game should be the same for everyone and I think it [installing VAR in top leagues] is an elitist decision. It's like the have and the have-nots. Our game is no more or less important as what's happening in Scottish Championship or Scottish League One, League Two over the weekend. As soon as you have technology in, you're playing a different game and the game's different.
“If you're asking me, do I think it was a penalty [last Sunday]? That's a different question. If you look at Rangers' penalty the week before, the one they got against Queen's Park, and then you look at our incident against Rangers last weekend, then for me they are very, very similar situations. If you give one, then you should give the other.”
Critchley added that his sympathy lies with supporters who are frequently forced to wait to celebrate goals because of VAR checks. “I think the fan experience is everything. The game is nothing without supporters and if you're making it less enjoyable for them, then that surely is not a good thing,” he said. “Every time there's a goal going, either for or against, I'm straight away turning around and running to the monitors like: ‘Was it offside? Was it handball? Was there a foul?’
“You're looking for reasons not to give a goal and that isn't right. It takes away the emotion, that sheer elation of scoring, that where you just lose yourself for a few moments. You don't want to take that away from the game and unfortunately, in my opinion, I think VAR does prevent those moments - limbs, is it? - and you end up on row 10 and when you're sitting on row 20 or something. Those moments could disappear and that would be horrible.”
The technology is unlikely to be taken out football, so players, coaches and fans must learn to live with it. “No, I agree. I don't think it's going to change now. I think once you're in, it's in and that's it now. I don't see us ever going back, unfortunately,” said Critchley. “It would have to take an overwhelming landslide of opinion for that to change. I think it's in and it's just something that we're going to have to cope with, deal with. I think the game is going to change. We just have to manage it or process it as best as we can and the VAR process needs to get cleaner, quicker, more efficient, in my opinion.”
Having taken in lower-league matches to watch younger Hearts players out on loan, the manager noted the effect without VAR. That was also in evidence during last month’s Scottish Cup fourth-round tie at Brechin City. “It was Brechin away when we played and it was just refreshing,” he recalled. “There's no tolerance now in football society. The referee is going to make some mistakes. I make mistakes. As long as you've got respect for the referee and that he's trying to do his best and the officials are trying to do their best.
“Sometimes decisions are going to go for you, they're going to go against you. That's the game. That's what I was brought up on. Respect the referee's decision, play to the whistle and that was it. The referee's decision is final. Get on with the game. Unfortunately, now that's not the same and I think some of that has been lost.
“I wouldn’t say referees are lazy [because VAR can check so much for them]. I think they've just got so much to think about and so much to do. It's not just about refereeing the game now. There's so much going on before the game and during the game and after the game. I have empathy for the referees. I think it used to be just referees refereeing the game, using their own common sense and their own feel of the game, managing the players on the pitch. Now they have to manage everything else but the game and you forget it's just a game of football.
“It's 11 v 11. It's there to be enjoyed by everyone and it seems to have been lost somewhere. It just seems to have increased scrutiny rather than taking away pressure from the referees. I do believe that. I think the referees are under an enormous amount of pressure. They shouldn't be because they're getting scrutinised with their decisions every single week and that's the media around the industry in general. It’s everything - 24-hour news stations, 24-hour radio stations. It has added scrutiny to the profession and again, we have to sometimes just remind ourselves and strip it all back. Don't forget it's a game of football.
“Football is unique. It's different [to other sports which use technology] because it's so tribal. It's a multi-directional game where there's 22 people on the pitch and there's thousands and thousands of incidents and mistakes where so much can happen. It's not just black and white where the ball is in or out or obviously the goal-line technology. I think the goal-line technology, that's a good thing. So put your money into making sure that's implemented in every league because it's black and white. It's either in or it isn't.
“There's no human error or room for human error or an interpretation of that rule. It's either in or it's out. It's like tennis. It's in or it's out. In our game, I just think there's so much human interpretation, opinion. I see the incident completely different to somebody else and that's referees as well who have got the laws of the game. How you interpret those laws can be different and we've seen that in Europe. When you go away, referees see the game differently but that's the beauty of the game. That's what it's always been like.”
One situation Critchley is very comfortable with is the Hearts goalkeeping department. Competition is fierce with Craig Gordon, Zander Clark and Ryan Fulton all jostling for the first-team position. Gordon is the man in possession, pushed hard by fellow Scotland internationalist Clark, with Fulton third choice. Critchley does not consider it simply a two-man battle.
“We've got three in my opinion because I put Ryan Fulton in that category as well,” he said. “We're very fortunate with the goalkeeping situation that we've got. Craig is obviously the No.1, playing well and is in the team but Zander continues to push him. He trains extremely well every day and is a super professional like all the goalkeepers. We've got a couple of young goalkeepers out on loan as well. So, the goalkeeping department looks positive for us at this moment in time. But as I said, Craig's in the goal and he's No.1 and at the moment that's the situation.”
The younger keepers he referred to offer plenty promise for the future. Harry Stone, 22, is currently on a season-long loan with the Scottish Championship title challengers Ayr United. Liam McFarlane, 20, is enjoying a stint at League Two leaders East Fife since last July.
“I've seen Harry play a little bit because he's been on telly recently and I know Gal [Hearts goalkeeping coach Paul Gallacher] went to watch him last weekend at Falkirk. Liam trains with us a couple of times because it's different to East Fife with the [part-time] status of their team. They are both young goalkeepers with potential and obviously, they're competing for promotion. Harry's in the team and playing well and that's brilliant for him. East Fife are at the top of the league and fighting for promotion, that's brilliant for Liam. They're playing in two successful teams and they're young goalkeepers with promise, but they've also got some good competition in front of them.”
Following the Rangers defeat, in which Hearts created many scoring chances, Critchley spoke to striker Elton Kabangu. The on-loan Belgian saw several efforts saved by the Rangers goalkeeper Jack Butland and looked a frustrated figure come the end of the 90 minutes.
“I spoke to Elton this week,” explained Critchley. “He was naturally disappointed with last weekend because he's a goalscorer, he wants to score goals and he knew he had some real opportunities to score. What I'd say is that it didn't affect him during the game. He didn't get his head down. It's not like he stopped working hard for the team or stopped competing because he was getting chances in the second half.
“His mentality is top. Yes, he was naturally disappointed, of course, because strikers want to hit the back of the net but I have to say his mentality is outstanding. This week, again, he's straight on the training ground and the first thing he wants to do is practice and get better and improve. Those are exactly the types of players you want to work with.
“I think with having people around - Shanks - who complement him, help him and that's how you build a team. When you are recruiting players, you've got to see how you're trying to build your team for the future and how the players fit in: ‘If he's going to play with him, how does that affect him?’ That's squad planning and building your team for the future.”