Jon Moss has quit the SFA after seven weeks as VAR Manager, working under Willie Collum.
It is another humiliation for the SFA as they are left short in the refereeing department which is clearly failing.
Head of Refereeing Crawford Allan was removed last season after a vote of no confidence. President Mike Mulraney then claimed that a worldwide recruitment search led to Willie Collum, a long standing member of the influential Lanarkshire Refereeing Association with the new season littered with mistakes from the trusted VAR officials.
Greg Aitken failed to award Celtic a penalty against Kilmarnock on the opening day of the season, in the last round of fixtures Andrew Dallas refused to recommend a review of an incident in which Shaun Rooney twice kicked out at an opponent.
Due to the timeline involved it is likely that Moss had applied for his new job before starting with the SFA, during his brief spell on the Hampden payroll he kept a very low profile with Collum again left to keep the show on the road with his own limited ability.
Discussing the exit of Moss, Collum told the SFA website:
I am obviously disappointed to be losing Jon so quickly but this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for him and his family and I wish him the very best on his new adventure.
It is a measure of the esteem in which he is held in refereeing globally that he has been offered a top job in a different continent.
The work he has undertaken with us as VAR Manager has already strengthened our operation and we will begin the process of recruiting a replacement immediately.
On August 7 all was well with the world with Collum announcing:
I am delighted to welcome Jon, who has significant and varied experience in using technology as a referee, working as a VAR operator and also serving behind the scenes as a manager of elite officials.
I believe his experience will benefit not only our current VARs and AVARs, but also the next generation who will need to become proficient in the use of the technology as we continue to improve its usage.
I am confident that Jon’s appointment will help us on our journey towards making VAR more efficient and less intrusive in Scottish football.
Working with the SFA is obviously challenging for any competent outsider, Bobby Madden looks a likely candidate to replace the now departed Moss.
The East Kilbride based former referee has been using social media to build his profile as an all round good guy but no Celtic fans will forget his woeful performance in the 2022 Scottish Cup semi-final before he quit for a season in England.
With no high profile appointments from the FA Madden quit refereeing to concentrate on his media career where he is a regular guest of the like minded Kenny Macintyre on Radio Scotland.
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