Scottish football player and coach Peter Grant explains the new changes he wants VAR to adopt after Celtic thrashed Kilmarnock (4-0) in the Scottish Premiership match

Last weekend, Celtic beat Kilmarnock easily in their first game in the Scottish Premiership. Four different players scored, setting the tone for Brendan Rodgers’ second season back in charge.

There was a great Flag Day event at Parkhead, and the Bhoys were determined to charge. They were at the top of the league table at the end of the weekend. Now the job is to stay there.

One small problem with the game was that Kyogo Furuhashi’s late penalty request was turned down by Don Robertson, even though it was clear that Ross McCrorie had taken out the Japan international.

There were hints of offside in the play. But VAR didn’t look into what happened, which made Celtic fans confused.

This week, Jon Moss was named the first VAR manager for the SFA. He might be able to help raise standards, but Peter Grant has also said what changes he wants to see made to the way decisions are made.

Peter Grant on Kyogo Furuhashi’s appeal of his punishment

On the Go Radio Football Show, Grant was shocked that Robertson wasn’t sent to the monitor to look over what happened. This led him to suggest some changes that would make it easier for refs and VAR workers to talk to each other.

“I keep saying that if the goalkeeper on Saturday was a center-half and he brought down Kyogo like that, it’s a stonewall penalty kick,” he said. There’s no way I can understand why Don Robertson wasn’t even asked to go to VAR.

“Always, my worry about VAR is that it takes away the beauty that fans enjoy, which is a goal. You know what I mean?” It’s a close game. When the ball hits the back of the net, your team scores. Everyone is celebrating, even the players, and we’re losing that.

One small problem with the game was that Kyogo Furuhashi’s late penalty request was turned down by Don Robertson, even though it was clear that Ross McCrorie had taken out the Japan international.

There were hints of offside in the play. But VAR didn’t look into what happened, which made Celtic fans confused.

This week, Jon Moss was named the first VAR manager for the SFA. He might be able to help raise standards, but Peter Grant has also said what changes he wants to see made to the way decisions are made.

Peter Grant on Kyogo Furuhashi’s appeal of his punishment
On the Go Radio Football Show, Grant was shocked that Robertson wasn’t sent to the monitor to look over what happened. This led him to suggest some changes that would make it easier for refs and VAR workers to talk to each other.

“I keep saying that if the goalkeeper on Saturday was a center-half and he brought down Kyogo like that, it’s a stonewall penalty kick,” he said. There’s no way I can understand why Don Robertson wasn’t even asked to go to VAR.

“Always, my worry about VAR is that it takes away the beauty that fans enjoy, which is a goal. You know what I mean?” It’s a close game. When the ball hits the back of the net, your team scores. Everyone is celebrating, even the players, and we’re losing that.

“I think fans are already having a hard time going to the game to spend their money and enjoy it, so everything with VAR has to be a lot better.” I was just telling the boys off-air that if there are two refs in the box, they should just tell the other one, “It’s a penalty kick.” They’ve all been trained together, so they all know what a penalty is and what it’s not.

“Everyone on the field should just turn around and tell Don, ‘Don, it’s a penalty kick.’ Don shouldn’t even think about it; he should just give it.” I believe it should be done that way; that way, I believe the fans would enjoy it a lot more.

Fans of Scottish football want VAR to be used consistently.
People in Scotland are always thinking about VAR when they watch games. In the end, our country loves sports so much that every little thing is looked at closely.

Fans only want things to be the same. It doesn’t always matter what kind of choices are made; what matters is how they are applied across the board.

Willie Collum has pushed for lower standards for VAR interference and for the handball rule to be less strict. This will make it more important for judges to make correct calls.

And no matter what, as a football fan, you only want to talk about how the two teams did against each other when you get home.