The release of the full VAR audio for the Maeda decision at Easter Road has shed light on what many suspected from the very beginning: that the decision to disallow Celtic’s goal was made by Alan Muir for reasons other than what the rulebook says.
He had made his call before he and his assistant had even finished reviewing the footage. If anything, this revelation proves beyond doubt that the VAR system has been abused by those who are supposed to enforce fairness in the game.
From the outset, it was clear that Alan Muir was not trying to ascertain whether the goal should stand or not in any objective way. Instead, Muir was clearly searching for any possible excuse to justify overturning the on-field decision, regardless of what the footage showed or did not show.
The VAR exchange begins with Muir asking his assistant, “What do you think there?” A standard, cautious opening to any review. But when the assistant responds with, “I can’t definitively say,” and asks if there are any other angles to look at, we’re presented with the first hint of something off-kilter.
This could have been a genuine attempt to seek the truth of the matter, but what comes next paints a very different picture.
Muir immediately says, “Ball looks out of play,” as he shows an angle from behind the goal. “We’re not going to get it from there,” he adds. What does that mean? What is he looking for that he can’t find in that angle? It becomes painfully obvious that Muir has already made up his mind that the goal should be ruled out, and he’s now only searching for a way to justify that preordained decision.
The following part of the exchange is telling.
Muir shows two more angles to his assistant, both of which show inconclusive evidence of the ball going out of play.
The assistant’s responses indicate that the footage is not definitive. “No, it’s inconclusive,” and, “I don’t think we can conclusively say that’s out,” are the statements of someone who is trying to adhere to the rules and maintain impartiality.
But Muir, despite the lack of conclusive evidence, is determined to overturn the goal. He pushes his own determined narrative on both occasions. Which means that he “believed” that there were multiple angles which all justified ruling the goal out, when no-one has presented fans with a single one.
If you believe Muir thought they were any more conclusive than the rest of us did then I’ve got a bridge to sell you.
Finally, Muir looks at a third angle and decides that the goal won’t stand. The final decision is made based on another angle which we already know shows nothing at all and it’s a move that raises serious questions about the integrity of the VAR process.
His assistant reluctantly agrees, and the decision is made to rule out the goal, even though the available footage does not in any way support that conclusion.
Here’s the VAR audio in full so you can view it in its full context. Note that Muir does not need the third angle to make up his mind; he made it up at once.
VAR Audio Transcript
VAR: What do you think there?
AVAR: I can’t definitively say. Any other angles?
VAR: Ball looks out of play. (Shows angle from behind goal) We’re not going to get it from there.
VAR: Looks out of play there. (New angle) Do you agree?
AVAR: No, it’s inconclusive.
VAR: I know.
AVAR: I don’t think we can conclusively say that’s out.
VAR: That’s not conclusive either.
AVAR: I don’t think you’ll get a conclusive angle.
VAR: That’s a good angle here. (Decides it’s out) Factual overturn, do you agree?
AVAR: Yes.
This VAR exchange raises several alarming issues.
For one, Muir’s actions show a clear disregard for the fundamental principle of VAR: that the on-field decision should only be overturned in the case of a “clear and obvious” error. There was no such error here.
The footage was inconclusive, and yet Muir proceeded to rule the goal out anyway, basing his decision on God alone knows what. It certainly wasn’t because there was any solid evidence on which to do so.
The fact that Muir was so determined to overturn the goal is deeply troubling. When you listen to the audio, it becomes evident that he wasn’t looking at the footage objectively. He wasn’t asking, “Should this goal stand?” He was asking, “What can I find that will allow me to disallow this goal?”
He was determined to find something, anything, that would allow him to justify overturning the decision, and when that didn’t happen, he bounces his assistant into agreeing with his call anyway.
Nothing in that audio clears this up, except in that it seems to confirm some of our darkest suspicions about Muir and what motivated him in this case.
This behavior is deeply concerning, especially when you consider the broader implications of the VAR system.
The system is supposed to be a safeguard against refereeing mistakes or biases, a tool to ensure that the right decisions are made in critical moments. But in this case, it seems that VAR was used to back up a pre-existing agenda, rather than to ensure fairness. And that’s a serious problem.
Collum, in his explanation, tries to justify the actions of Muir and his assistant. He insists that VAR’s role is to check whether the ball has crossed the line, and that the assistant referee’s decision must be respected unless there is clear evidence to overturn it. All of this, we knew anyway. Even the members of our hapless mainstream media know what the standard is for overturning the on-field decision.
But that standard was purely and simply ignored by the man in the VAR room. Collum does not address that point at all, and that’s the one Celtic wants answers on. Muir didn’t follow the rules or assess the footage objectively. He made a decision and then tried to find a way to support that decision.
What makes this all the more infuriating is that Muir’s actions were not an isolated incident. We know Muir’s history.
His previous decisions have raised eyebrows, and this latest episode only adds to the growing list of questionable calls against our club.
It’s hard to shake the feeling that this is part of a larger problem within Scottish football, where certain officials seem to be making decisions based on personal biases, rather than on the rules of the game.
The question now is, why did Muir act in such a manner? He needs to be asked to make a full accounting here.
Was it incompetence? Or was there something more deliberate at play here? We all suspect the latter.
The release of the VAR audio only deepens the need to get genuine answers, not Collum’s half-baked description of what it says in the rule book and why the goal should have stood. We knew all that already. It’s hard to ignore the possibility that Muir had an agenda, and that he was using VAR to achieve it.
For Celtic fans, this is not just a case of a goal being wrongly disallowed. It’s about the integrity of the game. It’s about whether we can trust the officials who are supposed to be impartial. And when those officials, like Muir, behave in such a way that undermines the trust in the system, it’s clear that something needs to change.
Photo by Paul Devlin/SNS Group via Getty Images
From the moment Muir chose to alter the on field decision without a clear picture, everyone knows it should be game over for him. There is no justification for him making that call, he is a cheat and no other word can be used. He circumvented the rules to get the outcome he desired. He can never be involved in any capacity for future Celtic fixtures, as he has shown his bias. He also cannot be in any other fixture because his judgement is compromised. We should be demanding his immediate removal from the full time VAR role. I would also question if there could legal ramifications as this decision altered the outcome of the match. If the SFA don’t take action, then we should take our concerns the UEFA. This was match fixing, it’s that serious.
I find it difficult from that audio to 100% proove or show that he has just made it up. He clearly says that’s a good angle here, factual overturn do you agree and the assistant agrees. So he’s covered his arse on the audio I’d say and in getting or convincing the assistant to back up his decision he’s been able to show he’s not made it alone.
What we can all see however from every angle we’ve seen is that there’s nothing conclusive in any of the angles therefore his motivation for the overrule is very worrying indeed. The assistant needed to be stronger as what we actually hear is two people, one who initially expressed disagreement and resistance, then agreeing the ball was out.
We know the decision was wrong and that he’s dodgy as hell but … it’s all in the wording I’m afraid.
God it was painful writing that
the invisible man on our board needs to finally do something . we live in hope.
And how could a member of the review panel agree with Muir should also be asked
There’s one way to finish this. Show the angle he made the decision on If it exists we owe Muir and apology, if it doesn’t exist, Celtic or Celtic Supporters organisations should take every action available to get justice from both the individual and the SFA who employ him.
We will not challenge them YET AGAIN!!!!
Time to get the beaks in.
QCs on a trip to HAMPDUMP with the Audio, the relevant Rule Book section and VAR Protocols.
Slam Dunk Case.
KERCHING.
P45 in the mail and no Compo due.
Get him tae fluck as a warning to the remaining MIBs from the LRA.
Enuffs, enuff.
Exactly right!
Sack Muir end of story.Waken the SFA in the Hampden Dungeon and tell them enough is enough.
Foreign referees in to replace the crap going out the door.
Was drivin after watchin the game at home and had my radio on SSB, just out of curiosity. They all agreed, keevins and all the rest, for the var team tae chop the goal, they must have obtained ‘conclusive’ evidence that the ball was out and it would be presented in due course. So now, after all, there was nothin conclusive about it. Time for our board tae step in here ah think and demand muir has no involvement in any of our games. This guy cannot be trusted and will pick his moments.
The referee and his assistants are the on field arbiters!
VAR is there for when the on field arbiters make a clear and obvious error.
In this instance there was no inconclusive footage or clear video angle that proved there was a clear and obvious error made by the on field arbiters.
The clear and obvious error was made by Muir when he knowingly used guesswork and bias to rule out a Celtic goal, thus denying our team at least, one point, and possibly all three!!!
That alone makes Muir both a guilty and incompetent official, who should be out of a job asap.
Like Beaton’s bias, thst was clearly on display at Tynecastle last year, and the subsequent outcry, this has to be dealt with by our club’s legal team, and in the severest manner possible.
Root out this decades long corruption and let’s see our game officiated and governed in the fairest possible manner !
If that is at all possible in this biased footballing nation of ours !!!! HH
Without being too cocky (That’s such a Sevco thing) – It looks like it might not cost us this season…
But – It might be different next season and we might not get away with it on that occasion…
And that occasion will fuckin well happen – Nothing is more certain –
Over to youse then ‘Daddy’ Lawwell and Lord Lucan-Nicholson…
Oh Fuck – I forgot… April Fools Day is still 23 days away !!!
The fact the club is silent, sickens me. It great being a rich well run club, but we need action from them here. We need something from them here. The board are either compliant or complicit. Makes me feel sick.
The mere fact that this erroneous use of VAR is still being utilised by “some” officials, in this manner, is disgraceful, and obviously very worrying.
When we see decisions like Muir’s, and others that have impacted games involving our club, it is almost beyond incredulity that Sevco fans continue to believe that their club is the victim of refereeing bias, whilst we are supposedly, the constant beneficiaries.
I have also criticised some of the European officials I’ve seen this season, but a lot of them are just plain incompetent.
In Scotland, we know what motivates ‘some’ of our officials’ questionable decisions, and unlike them, we do not require guesswork, to come to the right conclusion.
The whole system has to be reformed, with honesty and trust, in ALL of our officials, being at the forefront of any change.
Whilst the stench of bias and ‘knowing’ incompetence pervades our game, these incidents and ‘honest mistakes’ will continue ad nauseam!
Mistakes do happen, as referees are only human and we accept that.
However no fan can accept mistakes made, and carried out, with any form of bias or prejudice!
Time for it to be rooted out and our club has to be a catalyst for this ! HH
all we are asking for is to see this angle that showed the whole of the ball was over the line. one other point here is that one of the review panel agreed it was out so that makes three people who agree ?.
The strange thing about this incident is the contrast with the one concerning a possible penalty in the recent League Cup final. In that case the name of the VAR assistant was put out there and became a major focus, despite him having a secondary role in the decision making. The name of the VAR assistant in this instance doesn’t appear to be of any consequence.
Now that we have heard the audio and cheating by the officials has now been proved Celtic should now demand that the game be replayed.
Alan Muir of course should resign or be sacked as he cannot be trusted to be involved in any future Celtic games.
I naively believed Collum would condemn this decision. It was interesting that no action was taken against Brendan this time for saying that the decision was based on a guess. They know if they try to ban him for this then the lawyer who represented him after the Tynecastle fiasco would win this case hands down. The SPFL/SFA/Collum would have to conclusively prove that it wasn’t a guess,which would be impossible to prove. They’ve been as clever as they’ve been devious in not taking Brendan to task on this one, but in the process have also made it blatantly obvious what they’re agenda is, perhaps deliberately so! Time for the Celtic board to act!
Obviously they don’t want to set a precedent that officials get sacked for making mistakes, except this wasn’t a mistake, Muir done exactly what he wanted to do. But you can’t prove that even though we all know. If he gets a severe punishment then the whataboutery from every other team would go into overdrive.