Jacky1990

Its been used at the last 4 Scotland games I've been to and I honestly barely noticed or thought about it for the most part and, for me personally, it didnt take any enjoyment out of anything, particularly the Israel game. Even with the delay for Dyke's goal, it was obviously a different feeling, but it wasnt a bad feeling for me, more a nervous anticipation of the decision. I thought it worked well in all 4 games I've been at and would be all aboard the VAR train if thats how it was used. Do I trust Scottish football and Scottish refs not to make a total arse of it though? Absolutely not. But everyone is different and some have different, more negative, experiences of it. If the vast majority of fans are against it, which they are, its hard to argue it should be introduced.

People on here have literally said theyll stop going if its introduced. Whether thats an empty threat or not, of course, is a different question. Yeah, totally with you on that. Football, like all sports, changes all the time; some of the times its small changes, some big changes. I'm too young to remember it, but I'd imagine there was similar outcry when the offside rule or pass back rules were introduced, as with things like all seater stadiums and shirt sponsors being introduced. The world changes, we moan about it, we move on and get used to it, onto the other thing to moan about*. And the cycle will continue. * football fans are going to absolutely fucking flip when (I'll repeat...when) heading is limited or outright banned.

Not nearly as weird as people saying they will stop going to support their clubs because every so often there might be a short delay as the ref looks at a replay or gets confirmation a goal is legit. Its inevitably going to happen, so I'm not going to get too stressed out or overly annoyed about it when it does happen (partly cause Thistle are unlikely to be effected in the short term to be fair). Loads of people on here sound like they will though, so should at least be a bit of a laugh.

f**k it, I'm now leaning towards pro-VAR just to witness the heads gone meltdown that'll happen on here.

Aye, because loads of folk invest or watch Scottish football as a final battleground against VAR. Gies peace.

Having a look at leagues which currently use VAR, pretty much every other semi-decent league in Europe uses VAR. Its not a case of if it'll get introduced here, its when.

Aye, 100% agree. There has been a noticeable decrease in how long it has taken in the EPL this year, which has made it far better IMO. How much that is to go with EPL referees having a few years experience with it and how much is a concentrated effort to make quicker decisions is probably up for debate though. I think last night showed a more likely scenario of what it would be like practically in most Scottish grounds, which is a bit worrying. In most major leagues, there are 40 odd different camera angles to look at and for the VAR to make their decision. Last night there was only 2 or 3 angles to look at the goal, which is what happens in Scotland all the time (think the "trial by Sportscene pish"). If it is going to be introduced, and I think it is an inevitability, then we need to have a serious look at the infrastructure and camera operation at grounds so its not just a referee pouring over the same replay frame by frame. Who pays for that and can clubs/SFA/SPFL afford it is a separate issue.

Genuine question, when McTominay scored last night, was anyone thinking about VAR and did it being used take away anyones enjoyment from the game?

And nor should you. But the point I am trying to make is that there is a reasonable discussion/debate to be had on the pros and cons of VAR and how it would be implemented in Scotland and the effect it would have on fan enjoyment. I'll repeat again that I am massively on the fence about it but people should be able to actually have an open conversation about it other than everyone just saying "VAR is shite and I dont like it and I dont want it".

How often do people celebrate wildly only to realise there is an offside flag? Or a delay in a decision as the referee talks to his officials? Does VAR really take away significantly more emotional response than those incidents that already happen fairly regularly?

Fair enough. I just think the reasoning of VAR killing moments and celebrations is quite a lazy argument. If people go in with the mindset that VAR will be shite and even when it gets the correct decisions it will take away from moments of joy (e.g. scoring a goal) then inevitably it will be a self fulfilling prophecy and that person will lose out on an experience. But I dont think thats VAR's fault, its the negative, pessimistic mindset of the fan, even if that isnt entirely their fault. If people go in with the idea that VAR isnt the devil then it still allows you to have the same experience, just a delayed restart and an added bit of drama with the will it/wont it count. Its similar lazy arguments that get banded around about plastic pitches and games always being shite on them. Btw, I'm not entirely sold in whether VAR will work in Scotland as I dont think we have the infrastructure and availability of cameras, etc, to make it worthwhile or cost effective, not even including the shocking standard of some referees and my distrust in them using it properly.

VAR disallowing a goal can be dramatic as well though. Think Sterling's disallowed goal for Man City in the last minute of their Champ League semi against Spurs. Incredibly dramatic and I bet Spurs fans werent complaining about it killing a moment. VAR isnt going to stop people going mental when the ball hits the net so it shouldnt stop those moments of euphoria. I certainly wasnt thinking about VAR when McGregor scored against Croatia. Those moments might eventually mean nothing if goals are chopped off, but youll still get those celebrations and those instant euphoric feelings.

I'm generally in favour of VAR if used correctly and quickly. I think how much of a shambles the EPL made of it for the first couple years has given people a bad impression of it, but it has generally been used well in major tournaments and in other leagues. I just have absolutely no confidence in the referees in this country to not make a total disaster of it. I get the argument about taking away some of the passion of scoring a goal, but its not any different from the delay in seeing an offside flag when a goal is scored and the comedown after seeing it IMO. In short, I quite like VAR but massively sceptical it wouldnt just turn into an expensive farce in Scotland.

Big fan of Marvin Bartley standing his ground over his accurate criticism of fan behaviour last week. The guy is one of the best things about Scottish football and should be given as big a platform as possible to speak his mind. Some boi.

I really, really struggle to see what Grealish brings to this City side. Sterling, Foden, Silva and Mahrez are all streaks ahead of him. He totally slows their play down every time he gets it.

Every time they open the accounts spreadsheet.

You know fine well the answer to that. If its Goldson on Nisbet it isnt given as a foul, let alone a sending off, imho.

Just seen the sending off. Christ, anyone who thinks that should be a sending off needs to give their head a wobble. Shouldnt even have been a foul.

The guy is a fucking idiot. Obviously no one really has any idea what was or wasnt said (other than a select few of course), but it is absolutely okay for County to give the usual chat about investigation underway, if true will be dealt with severely, no further comment at this time, etc. No issue with that at all. But its fucking lunacy the guy with a history of being a racists first thought it to just downplay it. c**t.

Gary Caldwell's agent works miracles.

St Johnstone play in blue.... Packie only knows two teams, one of them play in blue.... He has many peoples dream job and it fucking kills me every time i hear him open his mouth.

Its being done in partnership with some sustainability companies so Sky will get the calculations as best as possible. They arent making the numbers public which certainly raises red flags this is just marketing. I will say its a noble endeavour and something we will see more of over the next few years. But i think this is more Sky looking for good PR and trying to raise more awareness rather than it actually being a net zero game.

Its nothing but a marketing gimmick. Considering they have 60,000 odd people going to the game using various modes of transport, most of which emit large amounts of carbon (especially those flying in from overseas from the game), its not even accurate, its not a net zero game.

Stonewall penalty. Definitely handball. But Utd could have had two. And they didnt send the ref over to review either. They'll be raging

Will never understand how anyone can watch Harry Maguire and think he is a top class player. Constantly out of position, slow as a week in the jail, on his arse more than any top end defender I can remember. I could go on. So, so shite.