VAR and handball rule in Hibs gaffer's sights as Gray weighs in on SFA admission - and suggests improvement
Key Match Incident Panel agreed home side should have been awarded penalty in Easter Road draw with St Mirren
Hibs boss David Gray believes referees should be given MORE chances to review contentious decisions during games, as the Easter Road gaffer responded to news that his team had been wrongly denied a potentially game-winning penalty in the recent home draw with St Mirren. And he believes that officials being called over to watch incidents shouldn’t be seen as a sign of the ref making some glaring misjudgement that needs to be corrected.
The Scottish FA’s most recent Key Match Incident Panel report included an admission that Hibs SHOULD have been awarded a penalty in their final Scottish Premiership game before the international break, with Thibault Klidje’s shot clearly striking the arm of Buddies defender Jayden Richardson. The three-person panel were unequivocal in their verdict, declaring: “The panel unanimously agreed that the on-field decision was incorrect. The panel highlighted VAR was incorrect not to intervene to recommend an OFR (on field review) and a penalty should have been awarded for handball.”
The injury-time incident, with the game tied at 1-1, prompted Gray to admit that he’d like to receive an explanation over why the incident hadn’t been reviewed. The head coach revealed today that he’d spoken to referee’s chief Willie Collum, who provided his own view on the incident this evening.
And Gray, who had also questioned an offside in the build-up to St Mirren’s goal on the day, said: “Yeah, I think everyone's spoke about it since. It's very easy in hindsight.
“Everybody's looking to try and make the right decisions and get to the right decision. One thing I said straight after the game, and I won't change on this, is we can't affect things now that have happened in the past.
Clear and obvious error still the threshold
“As long as the game keeps improving and everyone learns from the situation, hopefully it should balance itself out in the season. That's what people always say.
“And if it doesn't, well, that's maybe one that we never got. There's no point feeling sorry for yourself. You need to do more within the game to try and win the game. I say that to players all the time.
“I've spoken to referees, I've spoken to Willie Collum, I've spoken to people about it. But I didn't go chasing for it. I didn't go demanding an answer. I don't think that's necessary.
“I think I did say that after the game. I needed a wee bit of explanation into one of them. The offside one's a bit subjective. So I understood that once you get a little bit of an explanation as to why.
“And then the handball one, I think pretty much everybody said they feel it was a handball. So moving forward, you know, if that happens again, I think it would probably be given.
“Probably the difficulty was it was the last kick of the game. And what happens then is the game is done. So everything hangs on that decision.
“But as we've said many times, the most important thing on why VAR has been brought in is to try and get as many correct answers as possible. And I think over the piece, I think they do that. So I think that is something we remember.
“It has been brought in for the right reasons. So we have to keep improving.”
Handball Law root of the problem - at home and abroad
Gray recognises that the interpretation of the handball rule is as big a part of the problem as any issues with VAR, with Rocky Bushiri conceding a penalty in the UEFA Conference League home loss to Legia Warsaw for a similar handball offence, the former defender saying: “I think there's never the same situation because the distance the ball travels, everything else. Different ways in which the referees see it as well.
“So in European stuff, I think the Rocky one, I still don't believe personally that it was a handball. He's desperately trying to make himself smaller. And usually it's a penalty for making yourself bigger.
“But the letter of law and everything else that comes into it, why it was given in Europe … I think what we're trying to do in Scotland is maybe try and improve.
“The rule is very difficult. Unless you make it: ‘It hits your hand, that's a penalty, full stop.’ I think that's the only way you have a black and white answer.
“Whereas I think now it's always going to be slightly subjective to a certain extent. So I think it is the hardest rule for everyone to argue over every weekend because it happens every weekend at some level in some game.
“I'm glad I don't have to make the decisions every week. It's just not great when they go against you, and obviously you want as many of them to go for you. So I always look at how we can affect it up until that moment.”
On-field reviews needed to maintain ‘accountability’
Gray likes the SFA review system that makes public the thinking behind every contentious decision reviewed by the panel, arguing that “accountability” is essential to drive higher standards. He would also like to remove some of the stigma about on-field reviews, arguing that no referee in history could ever be perfectly positioned to see every incident clearly.
The former club captain, who leads his team back into SPFL duty at home to Dundee United in tomorrow’s 5.45 pm kick-off at Easter Road, said: “I think accountability is important in every line of work that you do. I think that's the only way we improve. It's the only way everybody gets better.
“The big thing that I would always try and encourage is, referees only get that one opportunity to see. And if they have missed it, for whatever reason, somebody jumps in front of them, whatever that looks like, I do think the opportunity to see it again shouldn't be seen as: ‘Oh, the referee's made a mistake here.’
“It should be seen as: ‘I think you might need another look at that. Just because you maybe didn't have a right angle or whatever you've seen might not be quite right.’ And see that as a strong referee going: ‘Nah, I'd quite like to see that again …’ or whatever that looks like.
“So using it for that, again, the whole reason it's been brought in is to try and get the right answers. More often than not. And I do think it's improving all the time.
“I do think they're getting better all the time. Unfortunately, on this occasion, it's one that's maybe went against us.”