Sfa Bring In Aviation Experts To Help Referees

1 month ago

Jane Lewis

BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

Aviation experts who train pilots person been brought successful by nan Scottish FA to thief amended connection betwixt VAR officials for nan caller shot season.

Willie Collum, nan SFA's caput of refereeing, has revealed apical referees successful Scotland attended a gathering pinch 2 pilots to thief hole them to enactment calm successful high-pressure scenarios.

The dream is to use connection betwixt officials astatine nan Video Assistant Referee centre and those astatine stadiums, going into nan caller convention play which starts connected Saturday.

"These 2 apical group successful nan UK who thief train pilots were talking to america astir connection successful nan cockpit successful very, very difficult situations, very overmuch nether pressure," he told BBC Scotland.

VAR will person been successful cognition successful Scotland for 3 years travel October, pinch Collum now going into his 2nd twelvemonth successful complaint of Scotland's officials.

"Pilots, it's life aliases death, group would opportunity it's life aliases decease successful shot arsenic well," he joked.

"But we request to activity really difficult pinch our teams successful nan VAR centre astir really they're communicating, astir keeping calm, astir reasoning astir nan facts, and being really logical successful their attack location and looking astatine that.

"These are nan levels we're going to. We want to amended and we'll do thing we tin to improve."

Collum says nan main learning constituent from that sojourn was communication, but not simply talking to each other, much circumstantial ways successful which to communicate.

"Was it unfastened questions, nan VAR was asking nan AVAR [assistant video adjunct referee], not starring nan AVAR, truthful that nan AVAR was capable to lend their opinion.

"These are really, really important things. Again, though, successful nan power of battle, we request nan VARs and nan AVARs to run for illustration that.

"We've been successful nan VAR centre six, 7 times pre-season to train and that took america to different level yesterday arsenic well. And we'll incorporated that into our activity erstwhile nan play starts."

What's changing pinch VAR this season?

It feels for illustration each play location are tweaks to nan rules and laws of nan game, and this play is nary different. The main things for fans to look for include:

Drop shot - antecedently whoever was successful possession of nan shot erstwhile it struck nan referee received a driblet ball. It will now beryllium nan squad who would person gained possession if it had not struck nan official. Any driblet shot successful nan container goes to nan goalkeeper.
Double touch - arsenic was seen successful nan Women's Euros last connected Sunday, if a subordinate touches nan shot pinch some feet successful a punishment and scores, nan punishment will beryllium retaken. If nan subordinate suffers a double touch and either misses aliases has their punishment saved, it's an indirect free-kick.
Eight-second norm - possibly nan astir absorbing alteration to effort and destruct clip wasting. Goalkeepers will now get penalised pinch a area awarded against them if they do not merchandise nan shot wrong 8 seconds. An indirect free-kick will beryllium awarded if a subordinate attends to impede aliases obstruct.
While each players tin speak to nan referee, it will stay nan work of nan skipper to beryllium nan sole interaction during immoderate big-decision moments. When nan skipper is simply a goalkeeper, an outfield subordinate will beryllium designated to attack nan official.