SFA chief defends VAR, declaring ‘the technology works’ despite widespread calls over the controversial SCRAP scheme.

SFA chief Ian Maxwell has jumped to the defense of VAR and insists there are no problems with the new technology.

VAR has come under scrutiny since it was introduced earlier this season and Ross County boss Malky Mackay was the latest manager to lash out at him over the weekend.

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He was furious that Celtic were awarded a penalty in the last minute of the first half at Dingwall on Sunday following a handball incident.

Willie Collum pointed to the spot after consulting with VAR and Jota hid the penalty to put the Hoops ahead.

The ball caught Alex Iacovitti in the arm as he challenged Cameron Carter-Vickers to a header inside the box.

The incident left Mackay stunned, and he questioned the use of the technology in his post-game interview.

Pundits like Rangers hero Ally McCoist and former Hoops forward Chris Sutton have also regularly slammed the software.

However, Maxwell insists VAR is working well despite recent complaints and believes the controversy stems from the subjectivity of referee decisions rather than the technology itself.

He told STV: “The technology works, there is no doubt about it. Refereeing has always been controversial. Decisions are always subjective and that goes on.

“We’re not saying it’s been perfect so far and we’re obviously working as hard as we can to try to improve it. I think it’s worth noting that we’ve only been in VAR for five or six months and there are countries that have had it a lot longer than we have that are still struggling.

“We want it to be as smooth and hassle free as possible and we are working hard to make that happen. We want decisions to be right. The reason for implementing VAR was to increase the number of decisions we make on the pitch.

“Obviously there were teething problems, but that is part of the implementation and part of an onboarding process. We want to make sure as many decisions as possible are made on the pitch.”

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