VAR was sold as a safety net. What nobody told us was that the technology is only as good as the process behind it — and the process lives entirely in the language. Howard Webb understood this. Willie Collum apparently does not.
What Howard Webb Built
Professional Game Management Officials Limited Chief Howard Webb acknowledged that Premier League officials, for all their experience, were communicating like amateurs.
His solution was to go outside football entirely- enlisting British Airways pilots to deliver training built around Crew Resource Management, the same framework used in aviation where process failure costs lives.
The principles were rigid. Standardised phraseology replaced informal chatter. Roles were explicit: the referee as Pilot with final authority, the VAR as Navigator providing data — not verdicts.
A sterile cockpit environment removed the drift. Webb’s acknowledgment was simple: process is everything. The decision is the output. The language is the machine.
What the Machine Sounds Like When It Works
Premier League. Anthony Martial booked for simulation — a 10 out of 10 dying swan at full speed. VAR reviews it anyway.
“I don’t think Young made a challenge. Just checking.” No conclusion. No steer.
“What are you thinking?” The referee leads his own process.
Every VAR contribution that follows is geometric. Foot position. Point of contact. “I’m going to recommend an onfield review.” A recommendation. Not a decision. Pilot still has the controls.
The yellow card was overturned. The process was invisible because it worked exactly as designed.
What the Machine Sounds Like When It Doesn’t
Tynecastle. Celtic 2-1 ahead, in control. Auston Trusty challenged. Steven McLean assesses it.
“It’s a yellow card. He’s going wide. There’s other defenders.” Clean, accurate, descriptive.
Then John Beaton arrives as VAR. McLean cites defenders. Beaton dismisses it — “I know, I know, I know” — before McLean finishes speaking. The Navigator has taken the controls without announcing it. He walks McLean through replays not to gather information but to construct a conclusion.
“I think there’s a reasonable expectation…” That is where the language starts.
“…that is an obvious goal-scoring opportunity.” That is where it ends. Same exchange. Same incident. No new evidence. The language escalated from tentative to definitive through repetition alone.
When a VAR uses the rule itself as justification for invoking the rule, he has stopped providing data and started building an outcome. McLean’s yellow for Trusty became red. Celtic finished with ten men. The match ended 2-2.
WHAT WILLIE COLLUM SAW
SFA Head of Referees Collum reviewed the process and delivered his assessment. It followed, he said, “the exact protocol to the letter of the law.”
Howard Webb looked at communication patterns like this and called in British Airways pilots.
Collum looked at Tynecastle and found nothing to improve.
That is not a difference of opinion. It is the entire explanation for why Scotland has sent no official to a major international tournament in a decade. A system cannot improve what its leadership refuses to examine.
This Weekend
Beaton and McLean have been appointed for the Glasgow Derby at Ibrox, to the surprise of no one. The same pair. A few weeks on from Tynecastle with only their roles reversed.
Their boss signed off on their performance. No reflection. Why would they? They have no bias and follow protocol to the letter, says Willie. Just the next fixture.
Howard Webb saw the problem and built a more clinical machine based on clear communication. Willie Collum sees no problem at all.
The rest writes itself.
On Sunday at the Celtic v Hibs match we had Grant Irvine screaming DELAY, DELAY, DELAY.
And waiting in the wings is David Dickinson. Known as Digger Digger in the chummy world of Scotland’s VAR community.
2 Comments
by Bhoy4life
Turkeys have never voted for xmas, so the SPL & the ref association certainly aren’t gonna vote for change.
Until the likes of Beaton & Dickenson are actually taken off the rota for these obviously wrong & biased errors, then there ain’t nothing ever gonna change.
Christ, these so called pro refs have actually happily gave up any chance of getting big European game nights just so they can help one cause, that should tell you everything about their characters, who actually sacrifices their career & reputation just to be seen as a brother?
As for Collum, his hands are tied, he basically has to accept the situation or he’s out of a job, the establishment will see to that.
by Trough Watcher
Great comment.
It’s very obvious now that our refs know they will never be demoted, they will never be financially penalised, never held to account. Why? Because the only man they have to answer to is Willie Collum. And they don’t have to face the camera. Who does? Collum. So they care not how they perform and behave, because all of the above means they really are able to act with impunity and what you gonnae dae about it? Thats their attitude.
And btw this article is purely on communication and improving there, it’s about professional development. Webb approached the SFA and offered to advise on his experience and how/ where to improve, the SFA said no thanks.