Martin O'Neill has called out former Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross for being 'four yards off the pace of the game' during Celtic's match against Hibernian. Ross flagged Daizen Maeda as offside for the Hoops' first goal, despite the forward being perfectly onside. It was a shocking decision, and thankfully, it didn't hold up.
Speaking about the overturned decision, O'Neill said: "We had a problem with VAR, we had a problem with a few decisions, particularly the first goal that we got.
"The linesman was about four yards off the pace of the game, but still wanted to flag for an offside. I don't know how he saw that.
"And, of course, we should have had a penalty [for a foul on Nygren]."
It's great to see the manager calling out the nonsense we see in Scottish football. There have been many questionable decisions made this season, but at Easter Road, we saw at least three. It became a point of discussion after the game, especially because the Hoops were denied a half-time lead after Hibs were awarded a goal, despite the shot hitting the hand of the attacker.
VAR is often a bad thing, but when you have an incompetent linesman like Ross, maybe it isn't so bad.
O'Neill is correct to call it out
O'Neill is right to call out horrendous refereeing when it happens, but it can come with consequences. Earlier in the season, pundit Michael Stewart was banned from Hampden by the SFA for his opinion on the standard of officials. Let's hope the rule of 'no criticism' doesn't apply to managers; otherwise, maybe O'Neill won't be let near the dugout!
In all seriousness, there needs to be a reform in refereeing. Considering we're speaking about one ex-political leader, I need to make it clear I'm not talking about that kind. VAR is ineffective in this country, with way too many errors being made, and it seems that a lot of the time, the officials on the pitch don't really know the laws of the game.
Sadly, it doesn't seem like that will change anytime soon. This time next season, I predict that we'll be sitting here saying the same thing yet again. So the real question is, will the day come when the SFA actually listens to fan concerns?
One major change that would be welcomed in Scotland is a stadium announcement after VAR decisions. In September 2025, Willie Collum agreed it would be a good step forward, revealing that 'positive meetings' were taking place over an introduction of the technology.
If officials were hooked up to the speakers for matches, that would at least offer clarity. It's the least they can do for Scottish football.
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