Northern Ireland Football League [NIFL] chief executive Gerard Lawlor says some of the reaction to the planned introduction of video assistant referee (VAR) technology for the forthcoming BetMcLean Cup final has been “over the top”.
His comments came in the aftermath of two referees stepping down from officiating at Premiership matches this weekend, with the confirmation of the use of technology at next month’s decider between Linfield and Glentoran at Windsor Park understood to be a contributory factor in those decisions.
Shane Andrews had been scheduled to officiate at Saturday’s Mid Ulster derby between Glenavon and Portadown at Mourneview Park, while Tony Clarke was to take charge of Sunday’s league encounter between Cliftonville and Linfield at Solitude.
On Friday, NIFL confirmed the landmark decision that the technology would be used for the first time in domestic football in Northern Ireland at the BetMcLean final on 15 March.
While the game will be officiated by Irish FA match officials, VAR operations will be managed by referees from outside of Northern Ireland using the Hawk-Eye system.
“The reaction in my opinion has been over the top. There has been abuse, threats and anonymous twitter accounts set up by people and calling for my resignation,” said Lawlor on BBC Radio Ulster’s Sportsound programme.
“This is a game of football and if there was a major mistake in the final and people knew we had the ability to bring VAR in for free and without a charge to the league, those people would be criticising me for not doing it.
“There is no financial cost to NIFL or the two clubs. They are happy and completely back the decision to bring this in.”
Leave a Reply