SFA blame 'technical erorr' for Denmark ticket debacle
However, fans who did not qualify within this window were able to log on and purchase.
This has meant they have been forced to null and void any purchase made today and launch a new sale tomorrow.
This has enraged fans, with the SFA blaming a technical error.
Read more:
A statement reads: "The Scottish FA is aware of a technical error that occurred during this morning's ticket sale for the upcoming FIFA World Cup Qualifying match against Denmark, which allowed purchase by some Scotland Supporters Club (SSC) members who were not eligible during the window that was reserved for those with 32-21 Points.
"As a result, we will regrettably need to restart the sales process from scratch in the interest of fairness, with any purchase that was made today being cancelled and refunded.
"The new sale will commence at 10am on Wednesday, 23 July.
"The SFA would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused to supporters."
It comes after fans were already baffled at being given an allocation of just 1,740 tickets for the opening qualifier.
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Scotsman
4 days ago
- Scotsman
Hearts and Hibs sent message by former Premier League referee over VAR
Sports official Martin Atkinson says VAR is always set to be subject of discussion Sign up to our Hibs football newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Both Hibs and Hearts have been handed a clear message on VAR's position within the game after the current SFA VAR Manager Martin Atkinson told fans it's here to stay. Atkinson, 54, has admitted he is well aware that VAR will always remain a 'subject of discussion' but that it will remain in the SFA whether supporters like it or not as it provides the opportunity for referees' mistakes to be rectified. The former Premier League whistler also admitted he wished the video assistant referee had been around during is own career after some of his mistakes continue to plague him today. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Atkinson was announced as the new SFA VAR Manager in October and has been quietly working away in the background. Now, however, he has provided fans with a clear position on the contentious VAR set-up: it is here to stay. "VAR is always going to be a subject of discussion. Some people like it and some are "Football will always split the opinion, won't it?', Atkinson said. Celtic's Daizen Maeda scores in the 2-1 defeat to Hibs before VAR ruled it out for the ball being out of play in the build up. (Photo by Ross Parker / SNS Group) | SNS Group 'I go back to when I was a referee. On the field, you made a mistake. It was a clear error that has influenced the result. You drove home and then watched whatever TV highlights programme is on that evening. "Then the following day, you see whatever is written in the media, then whatever follows, and it just continues for so long. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad "There's no worse feeling as a match referee knowing you've made that mistake', Atkinson admitted. 'The guys don't go out to make mistakes. There's no reason for them to not want to be perfect when they are out there. "But if we make that mistake with VAR we have an opportunity to make that right, and it's got to be good for the game. It's got to be the way forward, and I do believe that it has improved the game. The 54-year-old also confessed: 'I really wish it was there in many situations in my career where I've driven home and I've just thought, 'Why didn't I give that penalty?' "We seem to forget about these really big decisions that have influenced games and results over a number of years. Personally, I know they haunt me. Decisions that I've made over the years, I could tell you all the mistakes. But I'm not going to! I'm talking about the decisions where you've sent a player off. And you know full well if you had VAR on that day, the player wouldn't have got to the tunnel because they would have just turned you around. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad "And it impacts massively on that game, the overall result, your credibility as a match official, and everything that goes with it. Then it haunts you. It stays with you, these wrong decisions. So VAR is there to stop me now thinking 15 years ago, I wish I hadn't sent that player off in that game, in that derby. That is what VAR is there for. To make sure the integrity of the game and all that goes with it is not influenced by a decision made by a referee that can't be changed." Atkinson, who works with Head of Referee Operations at the SFA Willie Collum, is also a supporter of the recent proposals to have Premiership referees explain VAR's decisions during games, backing the plans that could put this into action. "I'm a football fan myself', Atkinson noted. "All referees are fans. You wouldn't do this job if you didn't love being involved in it and being part of the game. The communication side is something that we certainly embrace. It's something we talk about. Again, this is not just the referees who want this and that's it. We're quite open to doing anything that will enhance us in stadiums. It's certainly not written off by us. "We'd be looking to implement it as soon as the clubs are ready, as soon as we get the green light to say, 'Yes, the clubs want it, supporters want it'. We'd be all for that. Any country is allowed to do it when they are ready to do it. If the clubs say, we're ready to go, we have got all the infrastructure and the money and everything that goes with it to roll it out. Then we would certainly like to support that and encourage it."
Daily Record
29-07-2025
- Daily Record
Scottish referees could be mic'd up next season to explain VAR decisions to fans
The move comes as SFA refs chiefs Willie Collum looks to improve transparency over decisions There's arguably only one thing worse than when an engine catches fire on your passenger plane. And that's when the man in charge of the cockpit gets into such a blind panic over it that he forgets the fundamentals of how to fly the damn thing. Which is precisely why refs' boss Willie Collum has turned to a couple of professional pilots this week in order to help his own officials prepare for the new campaign - in the hope of avoiding any bumpy landings. The trick, says Collum, is to remain calm, composed and concise in any kind of crisis situation - and especially when communicating with the men at the control tower, or, in this case, those manning the VAR bunker at Clydesdale House. And, after asking Scotland's top whistlers attend a crash course from the experts, Collum believes his men will be ready for just about anything when the new season gets up and running this weekend. He said: "We've had aviation experts in, pilots. They're training pilots as well. They showed us examples of critical situations, life and death situations. "People think football is life and death, it's not quite the same, but it's an intense environment and we wanted to know how people communicate there. "What we really liked about it was that it showed us that sometimes the VARs are speaking and they are not really asking the right open question. "They could be leading the assistant VAR but the pilot is not asking the co-pilot questions that he is just going to agree with. "You actually see some examples where they physically sit back. We showed a clip from a match in Scotland where the VAR sits back and the AVAR gets in about the screen looking at it. "There was lots about communication. Another key thing was that nobody in a cockpit uses the words, 'I think'. It needs to be concrete, it needs to be, 'Here's what it is actually showing, here's what the outcome is'. Rather than saying 'it's something that I'm thinking', we need it to be more factual." And calm. Always calm. Especially when one of the engines is belching out flames and smoke - a scenario which was played out in front of Collum and his officials. He said: "We saw examples of that yesterday. Nobody can deny the pilot's adrenalin is pumping and they are fearing, they're frightened, they're worried. "It's about keeping calm because you have got a process and you know to follow that process. We want the same. When there are critical, difficult decisions for the VAR to make they have a process there." This left-field training programme was originally piloted - sorry - with referees from England's top flight. And Collum not only believes his colleagues down south have reaped the benefits but has also gone to the bother of pinching former Premier League whistler Martin Atkinson to head of Scotland's VAR team. He said: "There were a couple of high-profile decisions, with a lot of debate about the communication after a Spurs game against Liverpool. "England were the first to say, 'We need to have a real serious think about what's being said in the room. "It can't just be a run-of-the-mill conversation, we need the right phrases and processes'. "What we are using through aviation is that you need robust processes. We definitely think that in England you can see evidence of that. "In the short time that Martin has been in position, we are already seeing better evidence of that. "If you had gone into the VAR room before Martin and talked about communication, it'd have been really busy with people talking, saying too much. "Now, if you go in you would think, 'Something is not working right here because I'm not hearing anything!'. "But it is about speaking when you need to speak so that it is relevant. We also know that talking, talking, talking can make people tired. We don't want our VARs and AVARs being tired. "What was really interesting for us is they actually said that some of our clips would be good to train their pilots. They were able to see good examples. "From a technical point of view they didn't know what the right or the wrong decision was but what they did say was, 'Could there have been less talk? A different approach? More open-ended question to AVAR?' "They see a lot of similarities between what is happening in the VAR room and the cockpit. Again it is not life and death, but in football, maybe even in the west of Scotland, it is up there." With that in mind, Collum is also keen to roll out better communication with supporters inside Scotland's stadiums and believes a system to explain VAR decisions in-game will improve the match day experience. All he needs now is the clubs to agree to pay for it. He said: "We are closer. We've had good discussions with the clubs. When the referee goes to the monitor and can make an announcement - you're enhancing transparency. "We're also taking into cognisance about what clubs are saying and the in-stadium experience for fans. We want to support that as well. "We don't think it would cost a fortune. We've already been doing a bit of work in the background looking at costing and whatever for that. We would welcome it. We think that's doable. With goalline technology, it's also doable, you can bring it in - but it would cost a substantial amount. "If clubs gave us the green light for it financially, we would train the referees immediately. It's not as simple as people think, going to the monitor and making an announcement. "You've got to get the wording right, about selling decisions, but we would move fast with that. If we get a green light for that, we would introduce it within a season even. "I don't mean within a season meaning next season - I mean we would be happy to introduce it in the current season."
The National
29-07-2025
- The National
SFA draft in pilots to speak to referees in bid to improve VAR use
The country's leading match officials were shown clips of pilots communicating with each other in 'life or death situations' at a gathering at the national performance centre outside Edinburgh on Sunday. Howard Webb, the head of refereeing at PGMOL in England, turned to pilots and air traffic controllers two seasons ago following a number of high-profile VAR controversies in Premier League games and enjoyed positive results from doing so. Collum felt the presentation at Oriam at the weekend was an invaluable exercise and is optimistic that Scottish referees, who have been working with SFA VAR manager and former FA Cup final referee Martin Atkinson since last October, will be more effective during the 2025/26 campaign. Read more: 'We have had aviation experts in, pilots,' he said. 'They showed us good examples of critical situations, of life and death situations. People think football is life and death, but it is not quite the same. But it is an intense environment and we wanted to know how people communicate there. 'Sometimes the VARs are speaking and they are not really asking the right open question. They could be leading the AVAR. But the pilot is not asking the co-pilot questions that he is just going to agree with. You actually see some examples where they physically sit back. There was lots about communication. 'Another key thing was that nobody in a cockpit uses the words 'I think'. It needs to be concrete, it needs to be, 'Here is what it is actually showing, here is what the outcome is'. Rather than saying it is something that I am thinking, we need it to be more factual.' Collum continued, 'In England, there was a couple of high-profile decisions which there was a negative reaction to. There was a lot of debate about the communication after a Spurs game against Liverpool. England were the first to say, 'We need to have a real serious think about what is being said in the room'. 'It can't just be a run-of-the-mill conversation, we need to be able to use the right phrases, we need to have the right processes'. What we are finding through aviation, is that you need robust processes. We definitely think that in England you can see evidence of that. (Image: Paul Devlin - SNS Group) 'In the short time that Martin has been in position, we are already seeing better evidence of that. If you had gone into the VAR room before Martin came in and talked about communication, it would have been really busy with people talking, saying too much. 'Now, if you go in you would think, 'Something is not working right here because I am not hearing anything'. But it is about speaking when you need to speak so that it is relevant. We also know that talking, talking, talking can make people tired. So we don't want our VARs and AVARs being tired.' Collum revealed that the country's Class 1 referees were played footage of pilots communicating with each other after a plane engine had caught fire in mid-air during the get-together at Hampden. 'We saw examples of that yesterday,' he said. 'Nobody can deny that the pilots adrenalin is pumping and they are fearing, they're frightened, they're worried. 'It is about keeping calm because you have got a process and you know to follow that process. We want the same. When there are critical, difficult decisions for the VAR to make they have a process there.' Read more: Collum continued, 'The pilots also analysed a lot of our clips and said from a technical point of view they didn't know what the right or the wrong decision was. But what they did say was, 'Could there have been less talk? Could there have been a different approach? Could there have been a more open-ended question to the AVAR?' 'They see a lot of similarities between what is happening in the VAR room and the cockpit. Again it is not life and death, but in football, maybe even in the west of Scotland, it is up there.' Asked if he had any intention of tapping into any other industries going forward in an attempt to improve the use of VAR and the standard of officiating in Scotland, Collum said, 'Martin has come from a police background. We don't want to go way out there and way wide, but any industry that can help us we would be keen to use it. I think a few guys were put off flying yesterday, but it was a good exercise.' Former FIFA Elite Referee Collum replaced Crawford Allan as the head of refereeing at the SFA last year and has had to contend with criticism from clubs, managers, players and supporters about mistakes which his officials have made in big matches during his first year in his new role. However, he stressed that he and his staff at the governing body are working tirelessly to get major calls right and insisted he had positive relationships with numerous major stakeholders throughout the Scottish game. (Image: Rob Casey - SNS Group) 'I deal with the technical people at clubs, the playing staff,' he said. 'I am building my relationships with the players and I think we need even more contact with them. 'We are working hand in hand with the PFA for the time ever in Scotland. We had a meeting with the PFA Scotland chairman Michael Devlin yesterday. 'We've got nothing to hide. We want to show people what we are about and the coaching we are delivering. I've always said to any club they can pick up the phone any time or come here and watch any clip with us and we'll talk them through it. I don't control what the clubs decide to do. 'But on my part the door is always open. I welcome them coming and engaging with us. I would prefer that than anything that goes public, but at the end of the day I don't control the clubs or what actions they take. But I am confident I have built up good relations with every club and every coach in the country. 'We can learn from each other. I don't want anyone thinking that the only time managers will engage with me is after bad decisions. I have very good relationships where I feel we are learning from what they are saying to us as well, including the players. I know I have played my part with the door being wide open.'
