'We need our referees to go professional': Call for full-time official on eve of VAR's introduction to Scottish game

Hibs manager Lee Johnson speaks to a referee during the recent 1-0 defeat by Dundee United.

Johnson’s Hibs team will be involved in an historic moment in Scottish football on Friday night against St Johnstone when VAR is used for the first time in the cinch Premiership. The Hibs boss is in favour of the technology’s introduction, but feels more needs to be done to give referees – who are currently part-time – the best chance of being successful, saying they have “a very difficult job”. He also wants a fast-track avenue for former players to get involved in officiating.

“I think there’s a lot of improvement to be made, if I’m honest,” Johnson said. “It’s difficult because a lot of these guys are not full-time. Somebody said there’s 55 referees and you’ve got to be grateful because unless there’s referees there’s no football. It’s a really difficult job being a referee or an official. I would like to see a change, particularly in the top-flight, so they’re professional.

“And I’d like to see ex-players fast-tracked in refereeing. I know there will always be a risk with bias but, especially with VAR in now. Over the next five-to-ten years it would be good to see ex-players, who understand the various levels of contact and what is and what isn’t [a foul]. I’d like to see it. It’s not really happened anywhere but it’s been spoken about a lot. In Scotland, if they went professional and you opened it up to the potential of ex-players, I think it would be a good way for an ex-player and the right type of character to step into.”

Johnson, who arrived in Scottish football management this season after several years in the English game, says he has a “good” relationship with referees in this country but says communication needs to be improved, particularly with fourth officials. “I think the fourth official is the issue, mainly,” continued the 41-year-old. “We obviously didn’t used to have a fourth official, it’s only been in the last decade. That’s a starting point. I think the communication on both sides could be better sometimes. I think if we signed up to some sort of code of conduct that we all agreed with, in world-class terminology. But the communication is the thing that frustrates me. I don’t want it to be authoritarian, like you’re the kid and I’m the headteacher. One guy when we played at home against Motherwell was brilliant. We had a bit of banter, it built a rapport and it means the next time we have him there’s that bit of a relationship.”

Johnson knows Friday night’s match against St Johnstone will have added intrigue due to VAR’s implementation. The match is also a sell-out after Hibs reduced ticket prices to £10, ensuring the highest number of home fans inside Easter Road – more than 19,500 – since an Edinburgh derby against Hearts back in January 1989. St Johnstone are bringing just over 1000 supporters and requested more tickets. The Hibs manager has called on his team to get their “processes right” and bounce back from Saturday’s 6-1 defeat by Celtic and maintain their third-placed position in the league.

"It's not on TV, is it?” said Johnson of the match that is only available Hibs’ pay-per-view channel. “I think they've probably done that on purpose to tuck it under the radar! We want to be on the right side of the right decisions and we'll only do that by getting our processes right and concentrating on being extremely good ourselves and hope that that forces errors into the opposition from how good we are.

"I've never managed with VAR before so it will be very different. I wouldn't have wanted it when I was still playing because a lot of my game was about disrupting opponents to get them to want to kick me so I could play around them so no, I wouldn't have wanted it. As a manager? The Dundee United goal [a disallowed Mykola Kukharevych strike in a recent 1-0 defeat] is a good example. It's a minimum point isn't it – you'd probably turn the tide and go on to do a bit more in a game like that. Nobody knows because it's all hindsight, but I think if that situation happens again I'd expect it to be overturned and that's what you want."

Friday night’s match will be refereed by Kevin Clancy, while Willie Collum will be the VAR official back at the SFA’s nerve centre at Clydesdale House in Baillieston, Glasgow. The five other cinch Premiership matches take place on Saturday and will all have VAR in operation, with Hearts’ match against Celtic this first one to be televised with the technology in place.