Hibs keeper David Marshall has leapt to the defence of under-fire ref Willie Collum following his controversial Easter Road performance. But the Leith skipper has warned the introduction of VAR is unlikely to bring an end to debatable calls in Scottish football.
Collum has found himself in the firing line after his part in Saturday’s 2-2 draw with Rangers, which saw the Ibrox side finish with just nine men as Hibs grabbed a stoppage-time equaliser. The home support were outraged when Collum handed Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s team a penalty on the stroke of half-time after spotting Rocky Bushiri’s tug on Antonio Colak.
The ball appeared to be heading nowhere near the Croatian but that did not prevent the official pointing to the spot. It was Gers’ turn to let rip midway through the second half as John Lundstram received a straight red for a innocuous trip on Martin Boyle, although the visitors can have no complaints about the instant dismissal dished out to Alfredo Morelos for a swinging arm aimed at Marijan Cabraya 10 minutes later.
The flashpoints have raised fresh questions about the standard of referring ahead of VAR’s introduction, expected to come in mid-October. But Marshall reckoned Collum had just cause for making the decisions he did as he admitted telly technology is unlikely to remove the wiggle room from football’s rule book.
The former Scotland stopper said: “There is still interpretation there. Some people won’t think it’s a pen, some people will. With the Morelos red you can’t really argue because the movement of the arm is there. With Lundstram, you would have expected a booking. But the game has moved on, you have to be careful if you are tackling people from behind and are not intentionally getting the ball.
“Aye, there are still going to be arguments (once VAR arrives). I looked back at all three and I couldn’t argue that any of them were wrong. Are they soft? Yeah, maybe, potentially. But the game has changed and you have to be smarter on the pitch. VAR might help clear things up but I think that is why we watch football. Everybody has got an opinion. I wouldn’t be arguing the referee had a poor game anyway.”
But Marshall says dopey defender Bushiri has to smarten up after giving away his controversial spot-kick with his needless pull on Colak. He said: “You can’t argue really, can you? Rocky’s got his hands on the striker, so yeah there’s no argument. Put it this way, if it’s not given, I don’t think Rangers are up in arms but it’s still hands on the player.
“Yes, the ball was coming straight to me, but I think we are in a different era now. I think you have to realise these things can happen and you have to defend smarter. Obviously, we’ve got VAR coming in so these things will get picked up. Listen, it’s a contact sport and anyone who has been watching football for years knows that maybe 10 years ago that was never a penalty. But it’s a changed game now.”
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