Is this REALLY worth the money? It’s yet another bad day for VAR as Motherwell hit out after winning their appeal over Balmer’s red card
Motherwell have questioned if VAR is proving to be worth the money after Kofi Balmer won his appeal against the red card he was shown against Kilmarnock on Saturday.
The defender caught Fraser Murray on the thigh at Rugby Park as he cleared his lines in the 26th minute
Match referee Matthew MacDermid saw nothing amiss until VAR Andrew Dallas suggested he reviewed the incident on his pitch side monitor.
Despite the contact clearly stemming from Balmer simply following through after kicking the ball away, he was sent off.
Motherwell lost the game 2-0 and now require to beat Hearts at home this weekend to stand any chance of making the Premiership’s top six.
Although Balmer can now play in that match after the SFA confirmed he’d won his appeal, Motherwell issued a strongly worded statement in which they questioned the standard of officiating and the ongoing financial investment topflight clubs are making in VAR.
Referee Matthew MacDermaid checks the VAR monitor in the Kilmarnock v Motherwell match at the weekend
After checking the video, MacDermaid decided to sent off Motherwell’s Kofi Balmer
Balmer couldn’t believe it – but has since had his red card rescinded
It read: ‘We can confirm that Kofi Balmer’s red card has been rescinded, and the defender is available to face Hearts on Saturday.
‘The club are delighted that the correct decision has eventually been reached.
‘However, this doesn’t get away from the fact Motherwell played with ten men for over 75 minutes in an important fixture just prior to the split.’
Referencing Dan Casey’s successful appeal after being bizarrely sent off against Killie back in December, the statement continued: ‘This is the second time this season the club has had to go through the time, effort and expenditure to appeal a red card decision.
‘We have concerns that VAR felt that this was an obvious refereeing error in the first place. Again, the on-field review has come out with the wrong outcome.
‘We spend a significant six-figure sum each season towards the running costs of VAR at the stadium.
‘There have been eight instances so far this season where Motherwell have been directly impacted by what has subsequently been deemed an incorrect referee or VAR decision.
‘These continued errors throughout the season, for all clubs, will have a direct impact on where teams will finish in the final standings, which obviously determines finances for each club.
‘We hope that with the financial commitment put on the club to use VAR, combined with the frustration our fans get from the game due to the intervention from VAR, we see significant improvement in its implementation going forward.’
Meanwhile, it was claimed on Tuesday night that Alan Muir has left his high-profile VAR role after a string of errors this season.
The 49-year-old has reportedly left his post by mutual consent following talks with Collum and VAR manager Martin Atkinson.
It’s believed Muir will still be available to act as a referee observer in future but will no longer take charge of games from the VAR booth at Clydesdale House.
