Lee Johnson expects justice '99 times out of 100' from VAR as Hibs boss calls for full-time referees

The yellow card he received during the 2-0 victory against Ross County in Dingwall is still a sore point but Hibs manager Lee Johnson has insisted he has a good relationship with Scotland’s referees.

“I think the fourth official is the issue, mainly,” he says, with a glint in his eye as he looks ahead to Hibs’ historic VAR-powered cinch Premiership clash with St Johnstone on Friday night. “That’s a starting point. I think the communication on both sides could be better sometimes – maybe if we signed up to some sort of code of conduct that we all agreed with, in world-class terminology. Communication is the thing that frustrates me. I don’t want it to be authoritarian, like a kid and headteacher. One fourth official, when we played at home against Motherwell, was brilliant. We had a bit of banter, it built a rapport and it means the next time we have him there’s that bit of a relationship.”

For all his insistence that he was cautioned against the Staggies for what he claims was enthusiastic gesticulating to his centre-forward, Johnson doesn’t come across as the type of manager to constantly rub referees up the wrong way. You can’t imagine him getting in a fourth official’s face a la Jurgen Klopp, or cantering down the touchline like José Mourinho to celebrate a goal.

The 41-year-old is approaching 500 games as manager; the vast majority of which took place in England. He feels that there is a different vibe south of the Border but reckons he has identified why that’s the case.

“It’s just about the personalities. You can do a little bit more down there, definitely. It feels like in Scotland there’s a harder, and maybe a less personable, line than down there. But I think sometimes that’s because it’s more concentrated up here. In England, there are 24 teams in the leagues. It’s a bit more diluted; you’re not coming across the same guys every other week like you do here. Sometimes a subliminal bias can be built up on you based on their perception of your passion or over-exuberance, if you like.”

Aberdeen boss Jim Goodwin voiced his support for full-time match officials in the wake of the Dons’ 3-1 defeat by Hibs at Easter Road. In Hibs counterpart Johnson, the Irishman has a somewhat unlikely ally, given their vastly different takes on the fixture.

"It’s difficult because a lot of these guys are not full-time,” Johnson says thoughtfully. “You’ve got to be grateful because unless there are referees then there’s no football. It’s a really difficult job being a referee or an official. I would like to see a change, particularly in the top-flight, so they’re professional.”

Johnson has already joked that he will have to tone down his goal celebrations with VAR technology being brought in and used for the first time when his Hibs side take on St Johnstone in Friday night’s cinch Premiership game. His players are already training with a version of VAR at the club’s Ormiston complex in a bid to familiarise themselves with the new system.

Hibs boss Lee Johnson is cautiously optimistic about the advent of VAR

“We’ve started playing on if we have an offside. Then there’s the handballs and the grappling at corners,” he explains. “That’s the type of thing the boys have got to get used to and the better we can do that in training the easier it becomes for them.”

The Hibs boss has also spoken to his players to warn them of the increased scrutiny on everything they do on and off the ball. "Emotions in this game could easily lead to bookings or sendings-off or whatever,” he warns. “All the factors that always need to be accounted for and whoever prepares best in terms of both sides will probably give themselves the best chance of getting the three points."

Friday’s match is not being televised all though Hibs are providing a livestream of the sell-out encounter. Johnson admits he is in favour of VAR as a manager but wouldn’t be if he was still playing.

"It's not on TV, is it? I think they've probably done that on purpose to tuck it under the radar,” he jokes. “We want to be on the right side of the right decisions and we'll only do that by getting our processes right, concentrating on being extremely good ourselves and hope that forces errors from the opposition from how good we are.

Hibs' home game with St Johnstone is the first cinch Premiership match to be played with VAR

"I've never managed with VAR before so it will be very different. I wouldn't have wanted it when I was still playing because a lot of my game was about disrupting opponents to get them to want to kick me so I could play around them so no, I wouldn't have wanted it. As a manager? The ‘goal’ against Dundee United is a good example. It's a minimum point isn't it – you'd probably turn the tide and go on to do a bit more in a game like that. Nobody knows because it's all hindsight, but I think if that situation happens again I'd expect it to be overturned and that's what you want.”

Overall, Johnson appears cautiously optimistic about the advent of VAR. He might have liked a bit more guidance from the Scottish FA – “They’ve done a couple of tests and one was at our game against Motherwell. We didn’t get any feedback from that. We asked, but they felt it could potentially be an advantage” – and he is braced for teething issues, but reckons justice will be served ‘99 times out of a hundred’.

"I think it will be quite difficult for referees to trust the process early on. But if they’re well trained, things should flow quicker and that’s what we want to see. We want to see justice, and we want to see a quicker and better-flowing game. So, here we are and let’s see what happens.”