Celtic supporters have taken their frustration with VAR officiating to a whole new level, compiling a formal dossier of what they are calling “unequivocal evidence” of bias and sending it directly to referee Willie Collum.
The move came as the Premier Sports Cup kept Scottish football fans glued to their screens this weekend, with a packed fixture card giving plenty of talking points. But it was the ongoing VAR controversy that dominated conversation, particularly among the Celtic support who have been simmering over a string of decisions they believe have gone against their side.
The Celtic Hotline was absolutely buzzing throughout the weekend, with caller after caller queuing up to have their say on the refereeing situation. The volume of calls reflected just how deeply the issue has cut through among the fanbase, with supporters convinced that something is fundamentally wrong with how VAR is being applied to decisions involving their club.
The dossier itself is said to pull together a series of incidents from recent matches, with those behind it arguing the evidence speaks for itself. Supporters who put it together believe the pattern of decisions is too consistent to be dismissed as coincidence or honest mistakes, and they want answers from those at the top of Scottish football.
Willie Collum, one of Scotland’s most high profile referees, has found himself at the centre of the storm. His name has come up repeatedly in fan discussions around VAR calls, and the decision to address the dossier directly to him signals how personal the frustration has become for sections of the Celtic support.
The VAR system was introduced into Scottish football with the promise of greater accuracy and fairness, but it has instead become one of the most divisive topics in the game north of the border. Barely a weekend goes by without a major decision sparking outrage from one set of supporters or another, and the technology that was supposed to clear things up has in many ways made the arguments louder.
For Celtic fans, the issue feels particularly raw. They point to moments where VAR has intervened against their team in situations they feel were clear cut, while similar incidents involving other clubs appear to have been waved through without the same scrutiny. Whether that reflects genuine inconsistency or the kind of selective memory that comes with being a passionate supporter is a debate that is unlikely to be settled any time soon.
Scottish football has a long and colourful history of refereeing controversies, and conspiracy theories have always been part of the fabric of the game here. But the introduction of VAR was supposed to at least reduce the noise around human error. Instead it has added a new layer of complexity, with fans now arguing not just about what a referee saw in real time but about why the video review process produced a particular outcome.
The Scottish Football Association has faced growing pressure to be more transparent about how VAR decisions are made and to explain the reasoning behind calls that leave supporters scratching their heads. So far that transparency has been limited, which only adds fuel to the fire for those already convinced something dodgy is going on.
Whether the dossier will lead to any formal response remains to be seen. Scottish football’s governing bodies have not historically been quick to engage with supporter complaints of this nature, and there is little reason to expect that will change overnight. But the fact that fans have gone to the trouble of putting together what they describe as a structured case suggests the frustration has moved well beyond casual grumbling.
Back on the pitch, the Premier Sports Cup fixtures delivered plenty of drama of their own this weekend, giving supporters across the country something to shout about beyond the VAR debate. But for a significant chunk of the Celtic support, the refereeing question is not going away, and the Hotline made clear they are in no mood to let it drop.