Turkey make major change to VAR amid claims of referee ‘bias’ as SFA urged to ‘follow suit’
THE Turkish Football Federation have decided to appoint foreign VAR referees for certain matches in the nation’s top flight for the rest of the season amid claims of bias from current officials. The news comes following claims from Fenerbahce‘s president Ali Koç saying an “underground network” in Turkey has been using referees to impact results of fixtures. GettyReferees in Turkey have come under major scrutiny in recent months[/caption] Kenny RamsayThe technology has been a huge talking point in Scotland this season[/caption] The Istanbul club have launched protests against referees in the country in recent months and were fined £98,450 after they staged a walkout during their Super Cup clash with Galatasaray on Sunday. Fenerbahce pleaded with the league’s decision makers to change the date of the fixture to allow them more time to prepare for their Europa League first leg against Olympiacos which took place on Thursday. They also requested the appointment of a foreign referee for the match but both demands were denied. Now the TFF have came to an agreement following recent protests and have agreed a deal with referees from across Europe to watch over two upcoming matches from the VAR booth. An official from Italy, Spain, Germany, the Netherlands or Portugal will be appointed the VAR official for their fixture against Fatih Karagumruk and Galatasaray’s clash with Alanyaspor this week. The controversial decision is one which has been a growing debate in Scottish football in recent years with many managers, players and pundits hitting out at “inconsistencies” over decisions across matches. Some believe the appointment of foreign referees will help improve the overall quality of officiating in the country. It’s something Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers believed would help the overall spectacle as he urged the SFA to consider the idea during his first stint in Scotland – before VAR was introduced. Celtic drafted proposals to the governing body in 2019 but they were shot down. But there’s a section of supporters who still believe it should be the way forward for Scottish football and have responded to the news from Turkey. A couple of punters tagged the SFA and SPFL on social media to urge them to follow suit. One fan said: “@ScottishFA take note.” Another commented: “@spfl are you paying attention???” While a third insisted: “It’s about time we had the same idea.” VAR has been a major talking point in Scottish football since it was introduced in October 2022. Controversy continued to loom over the technology last weekend as Celtic “raised concerns” with the SFA over the penalty awarded to Rangers during Sunday’s Old Firm thriller. Aberdeen then issued a statement on Wednesday branding the software “unsuitable for purpose” after claiming the SFA admitted officials “effectively guessed” that Angus MacDonald was offside when Bojan Miovski’s goal was ruled out in Saturday’s 0-0 draw at Livingston. It had emerged that the Hawkeye system failed at the stadium – meaning that properly calibrated lines were unavailable. VAR official Matthew MacDermid and his assistant Jonathan Bell used a still image to make the call instead – which the SFA confessed could not be conclusive. While the SFA later managed to find footage which proved the Aberdeen defender WAS in fact offside, the Dons felt the onfield decision should have stood in this case. Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page
THE Turkish Football Federation have decided to appoint foreign VAR referees for certain matches in the nation’s top flight for the rest of the season amid claims of bias from current officials.
The news comes following claims from Fenerbahce‘s president Ali Koç saying an “underground network” in Turkey has been using referees to impact results of fixtures.
The Istanbul club have launched protests against referees in the country in recent months and were fined £98,450 after they staged a walkout during their Super Cup clash with Galatasaray on Sunday.
Fenerbahce pleaded with the league’s decision makers to change the date of the fixture to allow them more time to prepare for their Europa League first leg against Olympiacos which took place on Thursday.
They also requested the appointment of a foreign referee for the match but both demands were denied.
Now the TFF have came to an agreement following recent protests and have agreed a deal with referees from across Europe to watch over two upcoming matches from the VAR booth.
An official from Italy, Spain, Germany, the Netherlands or Portugal will be appointed the VAR official for their fixture against Fatih Karagumruk and Galatasaray’s clash with Alanyaspor this week.
The controversial decision is one which has been a growing debate in Scottish football in recent years with many managers, players and pundits hitting out at “inconsistencies” over decisions across matches.
Some believe the appointment of foreign referees will help improve the overall quality of officiating in the country.
It’s something Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers believed would help the overall spectacle as he urged the SFA to consider the idea during his first stint in Scotland – before VAR was introduced.
Celtic drafted proposals to the governing body in 2019 but they were shot down.
But there’s a section of supporters who still believe it should be the way forward for Scottish football and have responded to the news from Turkey.
A couple of punters tagged the SFA and SPFL on social media to urge them to follow suit.
One fan said: “@ScottishFA take note.”
Another commented: “@spfl are you paying attention???”
While a third insisted: “It’s about time we had the same idea.”
VAR has been a major talking point in Scottish football since it was introduced in October 2022.
Controversy continued to loom over the technology last weekend as Celtic “raised concerns” with the SFA over the penalty awarded to Rangers during Sunday’s Old Firm thriller.
Aberdeen then issued a statement on Wednesday branding the software “unsuitable for purpose” after claiming the SFA admitted officials “effectively guessed” that Angus MacDonald was offside when Bojan Miovski’s goal was ruled out in Saturday’s 0-0 draw at Livingston.
It had emerged that the Hawkeye system failed at the stadium – meaning that properly calibrated lines were unavailable.
VAR official Matthew MacDermid and his assistant Jonathan Bell used a still image to make the call instead – which the SFA confessed could not be conclusive.
While the SFA later managed to find footage which proved the Aberdeen defender WAS in fact offside, the Dons felt the onfield decision should have stood in this case.
Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page
