Latest news with #WillieCollum
The Courier
31-05-2025
- Sport
- The Courier
Dundee and VAR: Willie Collum insists ref was right on Ross County penalty that relegated St Johnstone
Willie Collum says Nick Walsh was right to award the penalty kick that denied Dundee a crucial victory over Ross County and relegated St Johnstone. Heading into stoppage time in the penultimate fixture of the season, the Dark Blues were leading 1-0 at Dens Park. A win would see the Dee safe from relegation and would also give Saints the opportunity to overtake the Staggies on the final day. However, ref Nick Walsh controversially punished Antonio Portales for handball and Ronan Hale equalised from the spot. The decision was branded 'an absolute disgrace'. However, head of refereeing Collum has backed his official. In the monthly VAR Review from the SFA on YouTube, audio from the incident has been released. After the ball brushed Portales's arm, VAR Andrew Dallas said: 'I need to check that.' Referee Nick Walsh: 'Penalty. Handball. I think the arm is above shoulder height.' VAR: 'Slight touch on his head and then it hits off the hand. VAR: 'Nick, it's Andrew. We're just going to check the APP (attacking phase of play). Just to tell you his team-mate's headed it and [Portales] has his back to him. 'But the arm is above the head, above shoulder height. It's close proximity but it does hit his hand and it's above shoulder height. 'There's no impact from the attacker on the defender. 'Confirming on-field decision of penalty kick. Check complete.' Willie Collum defended the decision but admitted interpretation of the handball law may change for next season. He said: 'We have listened to a lot of the perception of the decision. I won't ever just defend decisions in this show. 'I'll be open and transparent. 'In terms of the laws of the game, this is a correct interpretation because the arm is far too high above the head. 'The referee is right in his judgement to award the penalty kick. 'There is nothing in the law to say it should be ruled out. It says that anybody with an arm high in the air runs the risk of being punished. 'The referee was very clear, the VAR discuss the situation so when that is clarified there is no reason to bring the referee to the monitor here. 'People have said that but why? 'In terms of law this season, that is a correct interpretation. 'I would say we think we are in a better place in terms of handball. We looked at a lot of clips from last season to learn. This is a clip we need to look at again. 'We have a lot of discussion post-season with this kind of incident. 'There's a possibility next season [it isn't given]. We will listen to people's views. There are a lot of ifs and buts but in terms of law nobody can say that isn't given.' The VAR Review also covered two other controversial decisions that went against the Dark Blues. Collum admitted he was 'disappointed' in VAR's process to review a push by Kilmarnock's Kyle Vassell on Simon Murray not because it was a foul but because it was outside the area. Another involving Antonio Portales proved far more controversial. The Mexican had already volleyed in one beauty against Motherwell and struck another into the top corner to put Dundee 2-0 up. However, offside was given against Clark Robertson in the build-up, a decision then-Dee boss Tony Docherty blasted as a 'disgrace'. Again Collum backed the decision but admitted the referee should have been brought to the monitor to review it personally. He said: '[Clark Robertson] comes out to challenge the Motherwell player and moves his leg to challenge. Making that challenging motion, that was enough for the VAR team to say this was impact. 'We shared this clip far and wide. The KMI panel looked at it in detail, we looked at it with the referees. 'It was probably 60-40 in favour of offside. That means we want to review it, look at it in the close season with the clubs, players and coaches as well as the match officials to think about our direction of travel moving forward. 'We are content with the decision. Where we are not content is the process. Categorically, the referee should have been brought to the monitor. 'This is not a factual decision. It is factual that the player is offside, but subjective whether he impacts the move. 'That should be left to the on-field match official.'
Daily Record
30-05-2025
- Sport
- Daily Record
Willie Collum responds to Rangers 'ghost goal' as ref chief emphatic on VAR but makes key admission over incident
Rangers were apoplectic over the incident but Collum has offered a rebuttal from the governing body Insistent Willie Collum reckons VAR were right to deny raging Rangers their 'ghost goal' against Hibs on the final day of the Premiership season. Nico Raskin was left aghast after his apparent opener at Easter Road wasn't given by referee Nick Walsh and his assistant referee then the on-field decision was held up by his VAR officials seconds before Hibs duly scored. The Ibrox side released an angry statement in which they claimed they would back Rangers TV commentator John Brown to the hilt if a charge followed after he described the call made by the match officials as "corrupt". And now Collum has waded into the furore. The former grade one admits the ball may well have crossed the line, however, he has robustly defended the SFA process by citing two flashpoints from earlier in the season which led to public condemnation of the governing body. Host Gordon Duncan was also on hand to deliver the follow-up Collum as he offered the case for no goal. Speaking on The VAR Review, Collum said: "Let's go back to two incidents this season first - Hibs vs Celtic, possible ball over the line, and Dundee United vs Hibs, possible handball before it goes into the goal. "We were criticised for both of those decisions, and rightly so, because ultimately, there was no conclusive evidence. "I know people who would look at this decision and say 'that camera angle, for me, is conclusive.' "But the reality is, that camera angle is at an angle looking in the way, there's nothing directly in line there. "I've quoted before, in a World Cup match, there was a similar angle shown in a Japan game [against Spain in 2022] where, if you'd used that angle, you would say the ball was over the line. "Then when you line it up directly in line, it only needs a slight part of the ball to be touching that line. "Can the VAR and the AVAR there categorically, 100 per cent, say the ball was over the line? Not for us. "Do I think it crossed the line? I think there's a good chance it did. "But can I be absolutely certain of that? No. "What doesn't help in this scenario is that the ball isn't on the ground. "I think you could make a call here if the ball was on the ground, well over, there was loads of grass between it. "In terms of that camera angle, in terms of the ball being mid-air, can we be 100%? We don't think we can be. "We've been criticised previously, we've now moved to say we'll only give a decision like that if we've got 100% conclusive evidence, so the VAR and AVAR are correct to say there that they don't have that evidence." Host Duncan jumped in: "I think a lot of people will say 'if that's not conclusive, then will you ever truly get conclusive evidence?' "I feel like everyone thinks that's over the line. "So if that isn't conclusive then I'm looking for something that's very unlikely to ever be there." Collum admitted: "If you have a goal-line camera, you've got a very good chance of catching it. "I think we could have come to a decision clearly if it's looking right down the barrel of the goal-line. "One thing that would make this clear is goal-line technology, it takes the human element away because the watch reacts or doesn't react and then it's absolutely categorical." Duncan, following on, asked: "On goal-line technology, I assume it goes without saying that you would welcome that if clubs were willing to pay and make your life easier?" Collum said: "No question, because what would happen is it would remove any doubt. "It would be categorical, but where it won't help you is for a ball in and out of play on the goal-line. "We discussed it, and I think the clubs and everybody in Scottish football would welcome it, it is in play in the semi-finals and the final of the League Cup and Scottish Cup as we use it at the national stadium. "I don't think anybody wouldn't welcome it, but it's a cost implication, you balance the cost with how many times in a competition in a season do you need it. "Maybe even just one decision could be crucial in deciding which way the championship goes, who gets into a European place, who's relegated, who ends up in a play-off. "So maybe even for the cost implication, when the stakes are so high, it would be better to have it than not to have it. "We would definitely welcome it, and we would certainly welcome it if it was possible in each match to have goal-line cameras."
Scottish Sun
30-05-2025
- Sport
- Scottish Sun
Willie Collum leaps to defence of VAR over Rangers ‘ghost goal' vs Hibs but admits ‘there's a good chance it DID go in'
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) THE Scottish Premiership season is over, but one incident from the final day is still being discussed. And now SFA Head of Referees Willie Collum has run the rule over the controversial moment. Sign up for the Rangers newsletter Sign up 3 Nico Raskin thought he'd doubled Rangers' lead in their final match against Hibs Credit: SNS 3 The ball appeared to cross the line but Nick Walsh waved play on and VAR confirmed the decision 3 SFA Head of Referees Willie Collum has had his say on the incident Rangers thought they'd doubled their advantage against Hibs when Nicolas Raskin appeared to bundle the ball over the line, only for referee Nick Walsh to wave play on. It proved a highly controversial incident, and now the SFA's VAR Review show has covered the decision, with host Gordon Duncan asking Collum for his defence of the call. Collum said: "Let's go back to two incidents this season first - Hibs vs Celtic, possible ball over the line, and Dundee United vs Hibs, possible handball before it goes into the goal. "We were criticised for both of those decisions, and rightly so, because ultimately, there was no conclusive evidence. "I know people who would look at this decision and say 'that camera angle, for me, is conclusive.' "But the reality is, that camera angle is at an angle looking in the way, there's nothing directly in line there. "I've quoted before, in a World Cup match, there was a similar angle shown in a Japan game [against Spain in 2022] where, if you'd used that angle, you would say the ball was over the line. "Then when you line it up directly in line, it only needs a slight part of the ball to be touching that line. "Can the VAR and the AVAR there categorically, 100%, say the ball was over the line? Not for us. "Do I think it crossed the line? I think there's a good chance it did. Premier League Darts star Stephen Bunting 'moonlighting as Rangers steward' as incredible Ibrox doppelganger spotted "But can I be absolutely certain of that? No. "What doesn't help in this scenario is that the ball isn't on the ground. "I think you could make a call here if the ball was on the ground, well over, there was loads of grass between it. "In terms of that camera angle, in terms of the ball being mid-air, can we be 100%? We don't think we can be. "We've been criticised previously, we've now moved to say we'll only give a decision like that if we've got 100% conclusive evidence, so the VAR and AVAR are correct to say there that they don't have that evidence." Duncan replied: "I think a lot of people will say 'if that's not conclusive, then will you ever truly get conclusive evidence?' "I feel like everyone thinks that's over the line. "So if that isn't conclusive then I'm looking for something that's very unlikely to ever be there." Collum admitted: "If you have a goal-line camera, you've got a very good chance of catching it. "I think we could have come to a decision clearly if it's looking right down the barrel of the goal-line. "One thing that would make this clear is goal-line technology, it takes the human element away because the watch reacts or doesn't react and then it's absolutely categorical." Duncan asked: "On goal-line technology, I assume it goes without saying that you would welcome that if clubs were willing to pay and make your life easier?" Inside the rise of ex-Rangers ultras chief turned mob boss waging gangland war across Scotland Collum said: "No question, because what would happen is it would remove any doubt. "It would be categorical, but where it won't help you is for a ball in and out of play on the goal-line. "We discussed it, and I think the clubs and everybody in Scottish football would welcome it, it is in play in the semi-finals and the final of the League Cup and Scottish Cup as we use it at the national stadium. "I don't think anybody wouldn't welcome it, but it's a cost implication, you balance the cost with how many times in a competition in a season do you need it. "Maybe even just one decision could be crucial in deciding which way the championship goes, who gets into a European place, who's relegated, who ends up in a play-off. "So maybe even for the cost implication, when the stakes are so high, it would be better to have it than not to have it. "We would definitely welcome it, and we would certainly welcome if it was possible in each match to have goal-line cameras." Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page
Scottish Sun
11-05-2025
- Sport
- Scottish Sun
Watershed VAR shambles must surely prompt Willie Collum, SFA and SPFL to sit down for major rethink, says Bill Leckie
Our man also has his say on Derek McInnes' proposed move to Hearts VIDEO NASTY Watershed VAR shambles must surely prompt Willie Collum, SFA and SPFL to sit down for major rethink, says Bill Leckie Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) TWENTY-NINE minutes past four on Saturday May 10, 2025. The day and hour when Scottish football finally went through the looking glass. 3 Don Robertson is sent to the screen - but there's nothing to see 3 Dundee boss Tony Docherty asks the officials just what is going on And disappeared right up its own VARs. A watershed moment that must surely make Willie Collum, the SFA and the SPFL sit down for a major rethink about how we use a technology that was supposed to dig referees out of a hole. Not make them wish the ground would open up and swallow them. Because make no mistake, that was how Don Robertson must have felt deep into a Rugby Park relegation six-pointer that was reduced to a farce by one of his own colleagues. Who could blame him, either? The poor guy was having an excellent day at the office, totally in control of a game where so much was at stake and every decision counted. But then? Well, what happened next was embarrassing. It was Amateur Hour. No, scrap that. This was more like Open Mic Five Minutes, a guy in a remote studio itching to get involved, to prove his worth, to get his name known. Well, Gavin Duncan, you did that all right. Just for the wrong reasons. So what did he do? If you haven't seen it yet, here's the gist. A long ball gets pinged towards Killie's box. Their striker Kyle Vassell — only on as a sub seconds before, still not had a touch — chases back and shoves his opposite number Simon Murray, who hits the deck way inside the 18-yard line. SFA referees' chief Willie Collum on the big Old Firm decision he got WRONG Murray gets up screaming at the linesman for a penalty, but Robertson isn't having any of it, play goes on and that seems to be that. Until at least a minute later, that is, when Duncan shouts in Robertson's ear that it might be a pen after all. Robertson stops the game, makes the TV sign and walks towards the touchline. At which point we're all racking our brains trying to think what other incident there's been since the Murray one, because that one was so long ago it almost happened in black and white. Of course, what doesn't help in these situations is that all we're told — 'we' meaning managers, players, fans, media — is that VAR is checking for a penalty, not why. So we wait for Robertson to have a look at the monitor and either realise what he's missed or stick to his guns. Except that, as TV cameras on the far side of the stadium would later confirm, all he could see on the screen was the VAR logo. No footage, no stills, nothing. Poor guy is standing there shifting from foot to foot like a spare one at a weekend, the punters giving him pelters. He's called a water break to give the players something to do, but they could have nipped to the Park Hotel for a couple of pints in the time it was taking. 3 Willie Colum will have his work cut out sorting out this one What we didn't know then was Duncan was now explaining in his ear that there was nothing on the screen because, er, in the interim he'd realised the shove was outside the box, which meant VAR couldn't get involved, which means they couldn't show the ref any images. This is, of course, factually correct. But in terms of common sense? Of basic footballing savvy? Of gaffer Collum's blood pressure? Sorry, but it was a shambles. For a start, Duncan should have been sure of what he was doing before he sent Robertson to the monitor. Doesn't matter if that took two, three, even four minutes, just get it right. He should have double and triple and quadruple-checked where the shove happened and THEN raised the alarm. However, even if in between raising it then and the game being stopped it turned out adrenaline had got in the way and he'd been wrong after all, he should surely have possessed the gumption to give Robertson a look anyway so no one was made a fool of. As it goes, I don't think it was a penalty. It was, however, a clear and very obvious cock-up. And on a day when far more than just points were at stake — we're talking contracts, livelihoods, budgets, sponsorship deals, you name it — and when Dundee were already fuming at being VAR-ed out of a perfectly good goal in defeat to Motherwell the previous week, it was a cock-up too far. Did it directly affect the end result? No, it didn't. But what it DID do was encapsulate everything that's wrong with our use of VAR, the all-too-common disconnect between on-field and remote officials, the lack of cool heads at key moments. Every single top-flight club has compiled its own dossier of these moments. The ones that robbed them of points or wrongly cost them players to a red card or even just had a detrimental effect on their goal difference. Dundee may or may not feel they've been worse affected than most and, in the end, this may or may not contribute to them dropping into the Championship. When Tony Docherty said post-match on Saturday that something has to be done, though, he wasn't just demanding action on his own club's behalf. He was speaking for everyone who wants VAR to work but who knows that it's failing. Not through dodgy technology. But the same human error it was brought in to eradicate. DEREK McINNES isn't just the right man for Hearts this time. He was the right man the LAST time as well. Trouble was, back then the Jambos made the bizarre decision that — and I struggle to write the words without laughing — they didn't want to go Scottish. Not just that they didn't want to make the best available Scotsman their next manager either. But that they didn't want ANY Scotsman — even if Sir Alex himself had phoned up and offered to come out of retirement for one last shot at glory, they'd have said: 'Sorry, pal, wrong nationality.' That's not analytics. That's idiotic. No wonder, then, that the decision on replacing the failed experiment who was Neil Critchley appears to have been taken out of the Tynecastle board's hands. Something regular readers will know I'd have done four or five vacancies ago. It isn't that Ann Budge and her cohorts have picked bad managers. No, what they've had is an uncanny knack for appointing them at the wrong time, for thinking outside the box when sometimes what's needed is a really obvious punt INTO the box. Still, better late than never, because when — no, let's make that if — every i is dotted and t crossed, McInnes gets the nod, it'll be the first time in nearly a decade they'll have made the right appointment at the right moment for the right seasons. Though if he's reading this, maybe just one word of advice. Given that they want the deal done this week and given that they finish the season at Rugby Park, maybe best to develop a case of the sniffles between now and Sunday. YOU wouldn't have put much money on Hibs and Aberdeen taking much from a weekend when they took turns visiting the Old Firm. At least in defeat, though, David Gray's men gave their travelling fans something to cheer. At least they took the lead at Parkhead and had the champions wobbling for a while. The Dons? Sorry, but they barely laid a glove on Rangers at a half-empty Ibrox. Sure, they had four shots on target, four more than they mustered in defeat to St Mirren the week before. But anyone who argues they were ever in danger of getting a result is simply deluding themselves. Truth is, this was 4-0 going on eight. THE best strikers are the ones who miss yet keep coming back for more. On Friday night, that mentality showed why Brian Graham has been one of the best at his level for so long. A year before, almost to the night, I'd watched him lean back and sky a sitter that would have seen Partick Thistle complete an incredible comeback and knock Raith out of the play-offs. Instead, they lost a penalty shootout, which must have devastated Graham more than anyone. Now fast forward to Somerset Park on another frantic Friday night, with the clock ticking to 88 minutes and everything in the balance. Ball pings around a crowded box. Falls to the old fella, first time, left foot, buries the chance. Cue chaos, joy, relief, the full bhuna. What a way to erase all those bad memories of Stark's Park last season. What a moment for a man who it isn't an exaggeration to say has carried his club this season. Top scorer, skipper, caretaker manager, women's team manager. It's hard to imagine any footballer spinning as many plates as this 37-year-old does. Few would deserve another crack at the top flight more. Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page
Daily Mail
27-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Sacking of Neil Critchley makes Hearts' shameful statement even more baffling, writes Gary Keown
Willie Collum's monthly meander through the good, the bad and the ugly of VAR on the Scottish FA's YouTube channel rarely creates the stir it used to in its inceptual phase. It sometimes feels like it sits there in a relatively quiet corner of the interweb, a haven now for little other than nerds and anoraks and those still searching for evidence of secret-society conspiracies and rolled-up trouserlegs among the refereeing fraternity.
