And so it begins, Celtic stooges line up to target VAR

The articles had already been written, the social media posts saved in drafts and the conspiracy had already been formed, all it needed was the usual suspects to press “send” to spread their lunacy around Scottish football.

It wasn’t a surprise to see Chris Sutton, John Hartson and Tom Boyd – the ugly sisters of punditry – wheeled out at the weekend after Celtic beat Hearts at Tynecastle, god only knows how they would have reacted if they had dropped points.

Celtic beat Hearts and VAR today…

— Chris Sutton (@chris_sutton73) October 22, 2022

Dermot Gallagher on Sky Sports’ Ref Watch, covered all of the “controversial” calls and backed the officials in each one, explaining why the decisions went the way that they did.

Of course, this isn’t enough though, it’s all a part of a continuing conspiracy that has seen them win – checks notes – 11 of the last 12 Scottish Premiership titles, some conspiracy that mind, with cup success also benefiting from the odd favourable decision too.

How the SFA/SPFL continues to allow pundits like this to make claims that suggest that the officials are deliberately favouring teams who are playing Celtic – they clearly aren’t – is what leads to officials having an even tougher task. They did a good job at Tynecastle and should have been getting praised, instead, they were targeted by professionals who should know better.

Not everybody is a fan of VAR and, for all that there will be teething problems, the system made sure that a team playing Celtic were given a fair crack of the whip for a change and that, not a conspiracy, is why they don’t like it.