Willie Collum should be sacked for passing this off as VAR

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 cricket 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.