VAR has caused uproar in Scottish football since its introduction to the Premiership in October.
From handballs and disallowed goals to red cards and offsides, the controversy surrounding the technology reached a fever pitch some while ago.
There have been plenty of poor calls to have a go at referees and other officials for this season. A few springs to mind. The non-award of a penalty for Andy Considine’s handball at Kilmarnock, Alfredo Morelos’ disallowed goal against Celtic, the penalty awarded against Matt O'Riley was his blind handball, and the spot kick awarded to St Mirren at Tannadice recently.
The truth is, there are many more decisions that merit a mention too. But I would be here at my desk quite literally all day to analyse them.
However, it would be remiss of us to ignore the good work of the Scottish FA’s officials and their implementation of VAR when they do call things correctly.
Graeme Shinnie’s red card at Ross County last Friday night has become one of the most debated decisions of the season. I think that’s fair to say.
The 31-year-old walked for his challenge on Staggies defender Jack Baldwin in the Premiership clash between the Highlanders and Aberdeen as it approached its conclusion. On-field official Euan Anderson originally didn’t award anything for the 50-50 but was later advised to review the incident at the pitch side monitor by VAR. The midfielder was then ordered off after a short delay to the game.
I believe that the officials called this one right. I do think that Shinnie’s tackle was worthy of a sending-off – his second in as many games. The Scotland cap was more than entitled to reach for the ball, although, as some ex-pros have already observed, Shinnie leaves some on Baldwin with his high follow-through, which caused danger to his opponent.
And that leads us to the length of his ban. He picked up a two-match ban for serious foul play for the challenge and received an extra game for picking up a second red card of the campaign. Fair enough.
But to then rub salt into the wounds of the player and the club, the SFA dished out a further match suspension due to the claim having no prospect of success on appeal, which the Pittodrie club lodged on Monday. The Dons’ appeal came under the “frivolous” bracket according to the SFA's rules.
They launched a strong response. “In the cold light of day, we very carefully considered the decision to appeal Shinnie’s red card,” an Aberdeen statement read. “We decided to appeal in the belief that it had merit and a chance of success after watching the footage numerous times, listening to the various professional pundits on the matter, and discussing it with the player and the manager.
“In setting out our appeal, we also reviewed similar tackles in the Scottish Premiership in the last six months where at least two players, who have unintentionally caught an opponent in the follow through of a tackle and were red-carded after VAR reviews, have had their ban over-turned on appeal and their suspensions quashed.
“Scottish FA rules prohibit us from commenting publicly on such decisions but having been accused of presenting a frivolous appeal our supporters need to know that this is not only insulting to the club but grossly unfair and entirely untrue. To add a further match ban seems ridiculously harsh and unnecessary. We are publicly asking the Scottish FA to urgently review our appeal with a new panel.”
This is where I turn on the powers that be. While I’m of the opinion that Shinnie deserved to be sent off, I cannot comprehend why he’s been punished with a four-game ban.
What are the SFA playing at here? An additional game on the sidelines for Shinnie because they felt Aberdeen’s appeal was cheeky, essentially? Absolute nonsense.
There will be some readers who will likely make the point ‘it’s only one more game’, but at this stage of the season, that means he only has two matches remaining that he can feature in. Aberdeen are going for Europe, the stakes are high as Barry Robson aims to guide the team to a third-placed finish. They need their best players on the pitch to compete in the club’s top six fixtures over the coming month.
Shinnie’s final game of the suspension could prove to be a bitter blow for Aberdeen. Depending on how the post-split games fall, they could be without him for the games against their direct rivals for the best-of-the-rest spot. That’s no laughing matter when there are millions of pounds on the line. At the end of the day, they'd rather he was available for three of their final games as opposed to just two.
Whether the SFA does decide to review Aberdeen’s appeal with a fresh disciplinary panel remains to be seen at this time. However, It would seem unlikely for the governing body to go back on itself at this juncture.
The Dons were spot on in their assessment in the respect that the further match ban was “ridiculously harsh and unnecessary”. I hope they’re not made to pay the price in that game for the SFA’s overly officious stance.
