Scottish football goes beyond VAR tipping point as world wades in on title storm

The 1977 incident, which put Scotland well on the way to qualifying for the World Cup at Wales’ expense, happened long before VAR. Such obvious examples of erroneous calls at crucial moments are why VAR was brought in. It was meant to make football a less contentious game.

Remember what the press release promised prior to that fateful evening when the technology was implemented for the first time at a Hibs v St Johnstone match in October 2022? Video Assistant Referees at Clydesdale House will assist on-field referees “in the event of a clear and obvious error or a serious missed incident” regarding the following criteria: straight red cards, penalty area incidents, goals and mistaken identity.

Clear and obvious? As Pat Nevin said on radio on Wednesday night while re-watching Nicholson make a clearing header with his left arm up near his forehead when challenging Celtic defender Auston Trusty: “We could watch this a hundred times….if I was to absolutely stick my neck out, I would say it (the ball) touched the edge of his pinky”. So hardly basis for which to make a decision that threatens to be pivotal to a league title race.

The statement from the SFA when VAR was rolled out for the first time at Easter Road goes onto thank the 12 Premiership clubs at the time for “embracing the process – and the significant financial commitment – and hope that everyone involved will show a degree of patience and understanding in the initial phase”.

No one mention patience to Derek McInnes. The Hearts manager stopped trying to understand the “process” long ago, having been directly affected by seemingly arbitrary handball decisions. Hearts had one on Saturday night, when the ball ran down David Longelo’s arm during their 1-1 draw with Motherwell, that looked more like a penalty than the Nicholson incident.

McInnes is still seething about being denied a penalty when Alexandros Kyzidiris was seemingly tripped by Motherwell’s Tawanda Maswanhise in the same game. Indeed, this was in the same area of the away end penalty box at Fir Park as the latest incident. Before Celtic begin their summer transfer business, maybe they should make a bid for the patch of grass and install it in their museum: this was where the Scottish title 2025/26 was won and lost. The consequences of these decisions are this significant.

The sliding doors penalty moments

If referee Steven McLean had followed convention and awarded Hearts a penalty after being called to the monitor after Kyziridis was felled (and if Lawrence Shankland had then scored from 12 yards), Hearts would almost certainly now be Scottish champions.

Likewise, if Andrew Dallas, on VAR at Fir Park on Wednesday night, had allowed play to continue with a throw in after Nicholson’s header, then Hearts would have one hand on the trophy. Even after John Beaton was called to the sidelines to consider whether the ball had struck the Motherwell player's hand, he still could have said 'No, I do not see enough in that', as McLean had done a few days earlier while consulting the same monitor.

It’s almost comical to remember clubs are paying for this farrago. It’s now reached the tipping point. In fact, it’s gone beyond that. There needs to be a serious and detailed conversation this summer about why clubs are forking out to be forked over, to coin a phrase.

When even Gary Lineker is stepping into the debate because of something that’s happened in Scottish football, you know it’s reached a point where the problem can’t be ignored any longer. The former England striker doesn’t give the impression he watches much Scottish football unless a game is on in his hotel room when he’s up golfing.

But even he was moved to post on X on Wednesday night a clip of the incident in question. “This might be the worst VAR decision I have seen (and there’s a lot of competition).” he wrote. “Extraordinary given the significance.”

That’s one way of putting it. “Disgusting” is another, which is how McInnes described the decision that means his team must secure at least a point at Parkhead on Saturday to win the league for the first time since 1960. Until the sixth minute of injury time at Fir Park, Hearts were heading to Parkhead with very realistic hopes of simply avoiding a 3-0 defeat to be crowned champions. Their players were already milling around the pitch at Tynecastle, accepting the applause from fans after doing what they had to do against Falkirk. Someone informed McInnes of the penalty award at Motherwell. "I didn't have to ask who for," he quipped. It's gone beyond a joke now.

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