Premier League told to take note as SFA employee axed over Rangers, Celtic oversights
SFA chiefs have been forced to act amid controversies surrounding both Rangers and Celtic this season.
Willie Collum, the Head of Referee Operations at the SFA, has taken the brutal decision to axe Alan Muir as a VAR official [The Sun, 8 April].
That is on the back of a high-profile error in the Scottish League Cup final between Rangers and Celtic, which the latter won on penalties.
That was followed by an incorrect call that saw a Celtic goal wrongly disallowed against Hibernian in February.
Hackett backs decision to axe Muir
Muir was kept off matches for a couple of weeks and is now out of work as a result of the oversights.
In the view of former PGMOL chief Keith Hackett, it is an understandable decision in the circumstances and is one he would like to see replicated south of the border in the English Premier League.
Speaking exclusively to Ibrox News, Hackett said: “Willie Collum has set a high personal standard in his own officiating career.
“I have long advocated that if match officials do not meet the expected standard of officiating either on the field or in the VAR room, then after appropriate operational advice and if their performances carefully monitored do not improve, then they should be removed from office.
“A minimum of two major errors were made by this official operating in the VAR room and Collum, with his Head of VAR and former Premier League Referee Martin Atkinson, has decided that this official falls below the expected standard.
“Sadly, we have witnessed major errors been made by VAR officials in the Premier League and the opposite happens. An example was VAR Paul Tierney failing to advise the referee to review the James Tarkowski challenge [in Everton’s loss versus Liverpool] which was a red card offence, only to receive a follow-up appointment operating as VAR for the Manchester derby.
“I suggest that tougher management and accountability should be applied by the PGMOL with similar action.”
Muir error may have cost Philippe Clement his Rangers job
As a reminder, Rangers were denied a penalty against Celtic for a foul on Vaclav Cerny inside the opposition box.
| Rangers – competition progress 2024-25 | Progress |
| Scottish Premiership | 2nd* |
| Scottish Cup | Fifth round |
| League Cup | Runners-up |
| Europa League | Quarter-finals* |
It was adjudged that contact was outside the box, which is clearly was not, and instead the game concluded at 3-3 and went to penalties.
Had Rangers won that match, Clement may still have been in a job at Ibrox. The Scottish Premiership form has been poor this season, but a cup win makes a world of difference.
Nothing can be done now to change the outcome, of course, and it is never nice to see someone lose their job, but Muir has paid the ultimate price for some rather terrible officiating.