Sky Sports say sorry to SFA after Andy Walker's VAR revelations and 'concerns'

Sky Sports have issued an apology to the Scottish Football Association after its pundit Andy Walker claimed he had overheard a VAR official on a live feed telling the referee that the “easiest way out” of a contentious decision was to deem it offside.

Walker caused a stir when he said in a recent interview that he had “a concern” after hearing an exchange between officials during an unspecified cinch Premiership match. “I won’t mention any names and I won’t name the teams involved but there was an instance where a couple of things happened in the space of a second or two,” Walker said. “And I heard the VAR say ‘the easiest way out of this, is if it’s offside’. That to me is really poor language. There should be no idea that we get an easy way out. You have to look at what’s happening on the pitch and apply the laws of the game – don’t look for the easy way out."

The introduction of the video assistant referee technology into Scottish football has not been without controversy and criticism and on the back of Walker’s comments, the broadcaster made the following statement: “Sky Sports has discussed the matter internally and provided the Scottish FA assurances with regard to permitted use of the VAR audio. Andy Walker has also admitted his regret over his comments and how they have been reported by the podcast company who invited him to their show. We apologise to our colleagues at the Scottish FA with whom we have a strong relationship, and look forward to continuing to provide exclusive live coverage of the Scottish Premiership.”