Martin Atkinson, a veteran referee from the English Premier League, is set to take on a new role as the VAR Manager for the Scottish FA.
He will transition from his position as Select Group Manager at Professional Game Match Officials Limited, starting in early December.
With two decades of experience officiating in England’s top flight, Atkinson holds the distinction of having the second-highest number of Premier League matches officiated, totalling 463.
His impressive career includes overseeing the FA Cup final in 2011, as well as the English League Cup final in 2014 and the UEFA Europa League final in 2015.
Atkinson also showcased his skills on the international stage, refereeing three matches during UEFA EURO 2016 and serving as an elite FIFA referee, frequently officiating in the UEFA Champions League. His last Premier League match was in 2022 before he shifted to a different role within PGMOL.
In his new position, Atkinson will collaborate with Willie Collum, the SFA's Head of Refereeing, taking over from Jon Moss, who recently left after being offered the opportunity to become the Head of Referees for Football Australia.
Speaking about his new role, Atkinson said: “I look forward to this exciting new challenge and have been impressed by the significant strides forward Scottish football has taken with VAR implementation since Willie arrived. I look forward to continuing that work and supporting Willie, the match officials and the team at the Scottish FA.”
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“I am delighted to appoint someone of Martin’s calibre as VAR Manager," Collum stated. "I did not expect to be recruiting for that position again so quickly, but Jon received a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and went with our best wishes.
“I am pleased Martin has agreed to continue the considerable work undertaken to date in optimising our VAR operation and I’m sure our VAR officials and match officials generally will look forward to working with someone of Martin’s experience at Clydesdale House, as will I and the rest of my team.”
