This is an error, we’re not shying away from that error- Collum gives up defending Dallas

Willie Collum has admitted that Andrew Dallas made an error drawing the VAR lines on an incident during last week’s St Mirren v Hibs match.

Seven days earlier Dallas was on VAR duty at Celtic’s League Cup semi-final at Hampden alongside Steven McLean.

The discussion and explanation/excuses offered for the St Mirren decision apply equally to Nicky Raskin’s own goal at Hampden.

Collum and the VAR Review is entirely driven by legacy media outrage.

After the St Mirren match the VAR over rule and comments from Michael Stewart set the agenda.

DON’T CROSS MICHAEL STEWART

Stewart said that two frames were used to come to the decision. He was wrong, the same frame was used but two sets of lines were produced.

After Stewart had to apologise on The Scottish Football Social Club with Darrell Currie the SFA have created a formidable critic. Stewart doesn’t like being forced to apologise, he could be the person to crack the veil of secrecy surrounding the SFA and their home made VAR verdicts.

The VAR Verdict shows how amateurish the operation of VAR is with the SFA.

Dallas is heard shouting to an operator to pause play when the ball is kicked before the real comic cuts kicks in. He refers to match referee David Dickinsonb as Digger. Not a professional look.

HOME MADE VAR

Two etch-a-sketch type lines are used to try and find the furthest back point in the second last defender.

At a night match in Paisley it looks shabby. It is pin the tail on the donkey time. Of course there is human error involved. Fine margins. With the blink of an eye you can come up with either verdict. Offside or not.

The clip of the St Mirren ‘goal’ confirms everyone’s suspicions about VAR.

Dallas is in his third season as a full time VAR official. A post that was specially created him when he had to retire from refereeing due to a sore knee.

Squirming through the shambles that was the St Mirren ‘goal’ disallowed against Hibs Collum said:

Firstly we need to say we’re very disappointed with the process used. It starts well, finding the second last defender’s foot, making sure everything is checked.

Fortunately they come to the right conclusion of offside but the lines they use to make that judgement are NOT accurate because the line should have been on the ball.

ERROR

Take into account the game has been stopped for two and a half minutes here, but for us though ten seconds more solves this problem because then what they can do is draw the line on the ball.

I’m going to be really transparent here, this is an error, we’re not shying away from that error.

But the right thing to do once we’ve identified that error was to correct those lines, with a defensive line on the ball and not on the second last defender, because if we leave it on the top image people will never know. We also showed the second line to broadcast but in my opinion as head of refereeing it was more important to do that in the confines of broadcast rather than do it on Sunday or Monday.

You use the word lucky, I see this as a very big near miss and a big lesson for us.

THE DAMN WILL BURST

The lesson for everyone at Celtic is that the same detailed explanation wasn’t offered on the Raskin own goal at Hampden. Why was that?

Dallas was also involved in that judgement. Maybe the SFA didn’t get so lucky with that decision. Maybe they did.

But with a compliant media that can’t see past brave Jack Butland they are largely in the clear.

Certainly Michael Nicholson isn’t going to go demanding answers or explanations. A reminder of the July 2012 paperwork is enough to keep Mike on mute.

Collum clearly wants to portray himself as an honest broker as he creates a media image for himself. As a referee he was the geeky oddball. The spoilsport who always wanted attention, someone bigger than the players. Created in the image of his mentor Hugh Dallas.

The evidence is piling up that the Refereeing Department at the SFA is a shambles. The damn could soon burst, Andrew Dallas is a clear liability.