The idea that Scottish football might be fixed is current north of the border after a sensational evening of Premiership football on Wednesday night. League leaders Heart of Midlothian (‘Hearts’) were beating Falkirk 3-0, but saw the Holy Grail of their first league title in 66 years (or one hand on it anyway) snatched away in the 97th minute thanks to a controversial VAR decision at the game being played simultaneously between Celtic and Motherwell. Many believe there is more than just wretched luck at play.
With literally seconds remaining in the Hearts-Falkirk game, the Motherwell-Celtic game at 2-2, and Hearts fans in a state of intense anxiety mingled with incipient ecstasy, the ball was headed clear of the Motherwell box by winger Sam Nicholson. But did it also strike his hand, which was close to his forehead? Referee John Beaton didn’t initially think so but was summoned to the touchline by the VAR assistant Andrew Dallas. After some deliberation, Beaton awarded the spot kick to Celtic, which was duly dispatched, turning the title race on its head. Had the game finished 2-2, Celtic would have required a three-goal margin of victory in the title decider against Hearts at Parkhead today. As it is, Celtic just need a win.
The goal sparked a pitch invasion at Fir Park, funereal scenes in Edinburgh, and a furious debate about not just the value and effectiveness of VAR (Gary Lineker fumed about the “worst VAR decision ever”, Hearts Manager Derek Macinnes called it “disgusting”) but the very integrity of Scottish football. Conspiracy theories are swirling. The ‘Old Firm’ (Celtic and Rangers) have won every league title since 1986, are by far the richest and most powerful clubs in the land, and some believe are given a helping hand by the authorities, a view Wednesday night’s events may have significantly strengthened. Hearts’s largest shareholder issued a statement saying it was:
extremely concerned by a number of refereeing and VAR decisions across the last two rounds of fixtures, which have had a significant impact on outcomes for Hearts and others.
But let’s all calm down. There is a bit of background here and important context feeding the suspicions. Deep background in the sense of 66 title-less years by a proud club whose supporters have had to watch their Glasgow rivals march on to trophy after trophy, aided by budgets they can only dream of. (Celtic paid more in agent’s fees than Hearts spent on transfers last year.) More recently, there is the controversy over the allocation of fixtures in the SPFL’s complicated secondary ‘split’ phase, where the convention is that the league leaders play their final game at home. Except this year, due to ‘scheduling constraints’, Hearts will need to play away on the last day – in front of 57,000 rabid Celtic fans.
As to the first, the huge imbalance in the top league is hardly unique to Scotland, though the duration of dominance of the Glasgow duopoly is rather extreme. And the ‘suspicious’ fixture list is a result of the numerous complicated considerations that are a consequence of Scotland’s weird ‘split’ format, which was agreed by all clubs, let’s not forget. For the first time in its 25-year history, there was a potential three-way race for the title, and the fixtures had to be drawn up with reference to whether the two Glasgow clubs and Edinburgh clubs could play at home on the same day, no final day derbies, security arrangements, TV times, etc. It just wasn’t mathematically possible to allow Hearts to finish at home. No conspiracy.
As for the VAR call, there is a clear-eyed perspective on the Scotland’s Coefficient football blog which opens with “Gary Lineker is talking sh1te” but then proceeds in a more elegant manner to point out that it wasn’t either the worst VAR call of all time or even the worst involving Motherwell this season. Moreover, Hearts may have been cruelly unfortunate on Wednesday but they were mighty lucky earlier in the season when VAR footage of their striker Lawrence Shankland telling his teammates not to celebrate too much, as he had handled in the build-up to a goal against Rangers and just wanted to get on with the game before it could be queried, led to nothing. Other VAR decisions have assisted Hearts throughout the season (e.g. a red card for the keeper and a disallowed goal in the derby with Hibs on April 26th).
But that’s a hard argument to make, especially when your beloved football team is on the brink of a historic, and in your lifetime potentially never to be seen again, triumph. As the editor of Scotland Coefficient points out, judgements in these intense debates about marginal calls are often skewed by what we want the outcome to be. Most of Scotland wants Hearts to win the title so we desperately didn’t want a penalty to be awarded. Had a similarly dubious penalty been awarded to Motherwell, you likely wouldn’t have heard a batsqueak of protest from anywhere except the east end of Glasgow.
Fundamentally this is a VAR question, and here we have the complicating factor of how the technology is used in Scotland, which is grudgingly, thriftily. English Premier League fixtures have at least 22 cameras, SPFL games only six, though there will have been 12 for Motherwell Celtic as it was being shown live on Sky. Whereas in England multiple angles might have settled the question, for this handball the visual evidence is weak.
Even more than in England, VAR still seems to be in the development stage in Scotland, still viewed with suspicion as a form of witchcraft. According to all available data, decision-making accuracy has improved as a result of VAR, but it remains controversial and unpopular. It takes too long, is used inconsistently (was this really a clear and obvious error?) As a former, and still just about, advocate of VAR, I must concede it has numerous problems. It seems to be exacerbating tension to the extent that it might not be a great idea that we know the names of the VAR officials. Perhaps, like the man who wielded the axe at the execution of Charles I, anonymity might be a safer option.
It is worth remembering that it is not all the technology’s fault. VAR for passionate footballer supporters has come to serve the same purpose as Brexit for woke progressives: something instinctively disliked and then viciously and often unfairly denounced. Like Brexit, VAR’s benefits are ignored, and its arguable failings are overly focused on and magnified. The impression of 1,000 correct decisions is erased by a single fail.
Of course, all this might be forgotten if Hearts can win or draw today. Then the VAR controversy will recede in importance and be just a vivid detail in a glorious season, and the conspiracy theories will be somewhat quieted. If Celtic triumph, though, we will be hearing about it until the cows come home. Or a non-Old Firm team finally wins the Premiership.
Philip Patrick is a Tokyo based freelance journalist and Greenock Morton fan.
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I think the majority would feel that Hearts deserved some luck in a country where the number of different winners has not even reached double figures.
How’s the author thinking now? After the Hearts v Celtic result.
That is the worst, and most blatant incorrect VAR decision I have ever seen.
The Celtic striker, was clearly, visibly, obviously offside. *As shown clearly* by the VAR freeze frame that ruled him to be *onside*.
After millions of people had seen this clearly, it was then briefed that the onside call was made because it was a “different phase of play”. THAT WAS NOT THE DECISION GIVEN.
This is a fix, and a complete scandal.
Disclosure: I am an Englishman who supports a lower league team. I am not a Hearts, nor Old Firm supporter.
This is a disgrace.
Man City scored an equaliser at Everton in the 9th minute of 6 minutes added time!
They hold up the boards with time added, but games never seem to finish when that time is reached!
There is a valid reason for this. The ref must ensure the 6 minutes of football is played and add on any time wasting within the extra time, to the extra time. Huge scope for fiddling with the outcome though.
So do similar to rugby league. 80 minutes of “continuous” play (stop watch when ball not in play) and take time-keeping out of the hands of referees.
I guess people like to moan. Before VAR, people moaned about refereeing decisions and said it was disgraceful that we were not using technology to make it all better. Now that we have VAR, the same people moan it’s not done right. Maybe they are correct- I have no idea as I don’t follow football any more and even if I did, going down that rabbit hole is the last thing I’d want to do. My view from the outside is that if we can’t agree on whether VAR has improved things or not then it probably hasn’t and it should be ditched because it costs money and is surely tedious in the extreme. It also seems to me to run contrary to the whole idea of sport.
Anyway, I’m convinced that a healthy ratio of doing sport to watching it should be about 100 to 1 and that’s more or less what I do.
Exactly. For all my life, talking about transfer fees and management and coaching reshuffles has been the chosen sport of fatties …. There, I said it. 😂
Lol. Some truth in that. Was chatting to my window cleaner earlier today. He is far from a fatty. He plays Sunday League football but doesn’t follow the professional game.
Just make the goalposts wider to ensure more goals are made and the game would sort itself out.
Those complaining wider goalposts would cost money and disrupt the game are ignoring the costs and disruption in the current game!
Have experiments been done? I tend to think football is not broken and doesn’t need fixing but perhaps it would make it more entertaining without changing it too fundamentally.
There are many things to be concerned about these days, Scottish football hasn’t made it into my top 100, and is unlikely ever to do so.
Yeah, fair point!
I so don’t care
It has long been my belief that high-level football is fixed.
i agree. As a Man U fan I first spotted it in an F A Cup final against Arsenal. Christiano was deliberately brought down, when through on goal, by Viera, That was 2 reds – and he was already on a yellow. ! billion spectators knew he was off the field – the ref demurred. I realised that Arsenal had a big new stadium to pay for, so I understand why it was done. Just recently VAR searched for 10 minutes to find a coventry player with a toenail offside to prevent Man U being knocked out of the F A Cup. I don’t want my team to win like that, so then, all of a sudden, what is the point ?