Celtic Football Club has called for an urgent review into the application of Video Assistant Referee (VAR) technology in Scottish football, following the rejection of Auston Trusty’s appeal against a red card. The central defender will now serve a three-match suspension, impacting upcoming fixtures.
Trusty received the red card during Sunday’s 2-1 home defeat to Hibernian. The incident involved an arm-to-arm contact with Hibs midfielder Jamie McGrath during a corner kick jostle. Referee Matthew McDermid initially deemed the contact as minor, but VAR intervened, leading to the dismissal.
Celtic issued a statement expressing strong disappointment with the outcome. The club stated:
We are hugely disappointed at today’s decision, which will now result in Auston Trusty being suspended for three matches after an ‘arm to arm’ contact as he looked to release himself from being held prior to the ball coming into play – the kind of incident which features in games across the country week in, week out.
The club also highlighted the initial assessment by the match official. Celtic noted:
The match audio demonstrates that the referee saw the incident clearly. Immediately following the incident, the referee said: ‘It’s nothing, I’m just going to speak to them’ in terms of no further action being required.
Despite this, VAR decided to review the decision. Celtic concluded that this and other recent decisions indicate
a serious issue with VAR and its current deployment which needs (to be) urgently reviewed.
The upheld ban means Trusty will miss crucial league matches, including trips to Rangers and Aberdeen, as well as a home fixture against Motherwell. This marks his second red card of the league campaign; an earlier dismissal against Hearts last month for denying a goalscoring opportunity also saw an unsuccessful appeal to the Scottish Football Association. Potential replacements for Trusty include Benjamin Arthur, Dane Murray, and Scotland international Kieran Tierney, as the team continues its quest to defend its title.
In a separate but related development, St Mirren successfully appealed against the red card issued to their defender Richard King. King was sent off during Saturday’s 5-0 home defeat by Motherwell after an incident involving Callum Slattery.
The club’s appeal to a Scottish Football Association fast-track tribunal was upheld, meaning King is now available for St Mirren’s upcoming match against Livingston. A club spokesperson for St Mirren commented:
While we are pleased with this outcome, we are frustrated by the decision taken on the field and the requirement to go to an appeals process.
These events underscore ongoing discussions surrounding VAR implementation within the Scottish Professional Football League. For more on Scottish sport beyond football, readers can explore Scottish Sport: More Than Just Football.
