SFA reveal new WEEKLY VAR review panel as ex players set to help put EVERY major decision under the microscope

-Credit: (Image: Reach Publishing Services Limited)
-Credit: (Image: Reach Publishing Services Limited)


SFA refs chief Willie Collum has stepped up his VAR revolution – by bringing in ex players, coaches and figures in the media onto a brand-new weekly 5-man review panel.

Just last week, the former whistler launched a a monthly VAR Youtube show with a behind-the-scenes look at the technology and has now responded to calls from Scottish football punters to get people that "know the game" into the new Key Match Incident Review Panel.

The new panel takes replaces the Independent Review Panel (IRP) that was introduced last season to review match incidents. While the IRP met every two to three months to consider VAR interventions and non-interventions from the previous full 11 rounds of matches, the KMI Panel will meet on a weekly basis to consider incidents from the previous week’s fixtures in the Premiership, Scottish Cup and Premier Sports Cup.

READ MORE:Philippe Clement tells Rangers stars what they MUST do on Ibrox return as exile endgame comes with caveat

READ MORE:When Duk will return to the Aberdeen squad as Jimmy Thelin lays out timeline for transfer rebel

The panel will be made up of three highly experienced figures with a long history in Scottish football - including former coaches, managers and members of the media. The rest of the KMI panel is made up of an official from the SFA and one representative for all of the SPFL clubs.

Each member of the panel will be able to cast a vote on a VAR or non-VAR decision, with the majority vote determining the panel's resolution. Clubs in the SPFL and/or the SFA themselves will select the incident for the weekly panel to study. The KMI Panel will also award a rating for the difficulty level of the call in question, based on a new five-point scoring system which analyses every step of the decision made.

The KMI Panel will also award a rating for the difficulty level of the call in question, based on the following scoring method:

  1. A simple decision that all officials should get correct.

  2. A fairly simple decision for a Select official, but with more factors to consider.

  3. A more complex decision with a greater degree of subjectivity and/or more factors to consider, that a Select official should nonetheless call correctly.

  4. A difficult decision for officials with a high degree of subjectivity or challenging considerations to identify. One that needs deliberation. A 50/50 call.

  5. A particularly tough decision that all match officials would struggle with. The type of judgement where technology is needed to support officials.

The announcement comes just a week after the launch of the SFA’s Var Review, show that takes place each month with a behind-the-curtain look at the big decisions across Scottish football hosted via their YouTube channel.