GLASGOW, SCOTLAND - APRIL 07: Referee John Beaton and Willie Collum during a cinch Premiership match between Rangers and Celtic at Ibrox Stadium, on April 07, 2024, in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Craig Williamson/SNS Group via Getty Images)
Starting his fourth season as Head of Refereeing at the SFA, Willie Collum shouldn’t be allowed to continue.
Last night in Paisley Celtic had two goals disallowed.
One by the most dubious of VAR lines, the other when the match referee decided from still images that a Celtic player was offside. The shaky VAR lines weren’t available, the linesman didn’t flag for offside but based on opinion from a long range fuzzy image Celtic were denied a goal.
During and after the match there was no statement from the SFA.
No messaging to Sky Sports or BBC Scotland to explain or excuse the decisions.
Once again Celtic were on the wrong end of decisions that can’t be justified. Just like at Easter Road in May. At both matches Don Robertson was on VAR.
Almost certainly he will referee one of the Glasgow Derbies over the next two weekend. Steven McLean or John Beaton will get the other. All former colleagues of Collum.
First up should have been an equaliser from Camilo Duran. As Yang Kyun-jun’s shot was deflected towards goal Duran raced in front of a defender to bundle the ball into the net. The action of a predator.
There was also a predator in the VAR room. Sky Sports were supplied with a fuzzy image and two inconclusive lines to justify the decision to disallow the goal.
Below there is a still image that shows that the right foot of the St Mirren defender was in front of Duran. And their goalkeeper.
Celtic had to wait until the second half to equalise.
Pic1)
Point of contact, St Mirren player near side leg playing Duran on-side.Pic 2)
Obscure point of contact a frame previous before St Mirren player near side extends leg.But of a joke that. pic.twitter.com/vzvmCh0ETJ
— Lint (@Zeshankenzo) September 5, 2026
POST MATCH TRANSCRIPT THAT COLLUM CAN’T HIDE FROM
40 seconds:
PETER MARTIN: There was a wee suggestion that VAR wasn’t working properly in this one, it might have denied you a goal from Duran
MARTIN O’NEILL: Em, golly, well I would probably be more unhappy about it if we had not won the game. Is that right? It wasn’t working properly?
PETER MARTIN: Well, the lines looked like they were not properly calibrated
MARTIN O’NEILL: (breaking into a laugh) Oh, we’re not going back to last season are we? I’d never seen so many crooked lines in my life.
PETER MARTIN: Even Mheuka’s at the end seemed to be denied because the referee had to go and look and make his own decision on it.
MARTIN O’NEILL: He did, yeah.
It might not be such a light hearted matter if something similar happens at Ibrox next Sunday.
The same technology will be in place, Collum will be appointing his old colleagues to make the vital decisions.
Could you please post the lines to prove he was offside? pic.twitter.com/GrC36q5Z2o
— RealFootballManager (@RealFM78) September 5, 2026
Everyone in and around the game knows that VAR stands for Video Assistant Referee. To provide assistance. If it can’t provide assistance it doesn’t get involved.
Except if the outcome goes against Celtic.
The second intervention from Robertson was every bit as bad as the first. He wanted to disallow the goal from Shim Mheuka, simple as that.
The assistant referee didn’t flag for offside, Robertson didn’t have shaky VAR lines to back up his feeling so he called referee Ryan Lee to the monitor.
You absolutely won’t see anything like that in this week’s Champions League matches.
Yet in Scotland a Video ASSISTANT Referee can step in and push his feeling without any evidence.
DIFFERENT STANDARDS APPLIED IN COLLUM’S EMPIRE
Win lose or draw every club deserves the same decisions from the Laws of the Game.
With Celtic winning the match the officials know that the outcome, this time isn’t decisive.
After the Mheuka ‘goal’ was disallowed St Mirren might have equalised.
O’Neill wouldn’t have been going through his After Dinner routine if that had been the case.
Celtic ought to demand the publication of the full transcript around both disallowed goals is published this morning.
Of course with Michael Nicholson as CEO the SFA can do whatever they like.
With Collum’s network of media messengers boosted by Gordon Duncan some hard luck stories and tales of honest mistakes will soon be spread.
Sadly since July 2012 Celtic have been muted on all matters relating to the SFA.
Chairman Brian Wilson now claims that it is a strategy.
Celtic’s silence only encourages more of the same in the weeks ahead.
NOTE: Collum owes his entire refereeing career to Hugh Dallas and membership of the Lanarkshire Referees Association.
Three disgraceful VAR interventions… Scales was out side the box too.
I agree Collum and his clones are shocking, reversing on field decision based on a still image will need a hell of an explanation.
However when Collum does go, Bobby Madden will be head of referees. The honest mistakes would be off the scale under Madden, sometimes it’s better the devil you know!
How do SKY manage to get a direct line of sight, straight across the 18 yard line to prove Scales was in the box for the penalty yet when it comes to the Duran off side…in a virtually identical area of the pitch….SKY cameras never offer up such an image?
On a side note…..I eagerly await the gnashing of teeth and 2 week debate over these awful decisions on SuperSashBash and other unbiased media outlets.
As MON said himself, just imagine that next weekend and it was Celtic that it benefited.
That ref is a rank badyin…
Muir got the elbow for a wrong call at Easter Road for such error.
Last nite, there were two going against the laws of the game.
If a ref cant do the basics the game is beyond donald ducked.
On BBC radio shortbread last night the take on the goals chopped off,not to worry about it,Celtic still won the game.
Aye,right so what happens come the end of the season and goal difference cones into play, that’s 2 goals from 1 game,and we are only 5 games into the season.
Think of how many more games to be played and goals that could or will be chopped off,that could quite easily run into double figures in goals chopped off.
As I said goal difference could be a big factor again this season,but nothing to worry about from radio shortbread as Celtic won the game.
Don’t forget that the people who are our current referees and assistants and VAR poodles in Scottish football were all deemed unsuitable and below standard to be invited as part of FIFA’s WC pool of officials this past Summer …not one ! And as we all saw the guys selected to do the WC jobs were not nearly capable and talented to do so whatsoever ….yet our guys did not meet the requirements ! And so the cycle and merry go round of incompetence and ineptitude and inabilities to correctly and ably control games persists from our match officials of all descriptions this season too …once again ! The SFA had a pow wow last week at St Andrews seeking change ! Nothing was mentioned about the same underwhelming below standard performances of our referees and all other match officials ? I wonder why that was ?
Given that AI is now central to so many aspects of our lives wouldn’t it make absolute sense to integrate AI to replace the huns on VAR?
Nicholson ya muppet, speak up for once ya clown!
Lucan will of course say f*ck all !