Emphatic willie collum in key admission over rangers 'ghost goal'

RANGERS WERE APOPLECTIC OVER THE INCIDENT BUT COLLUM HAS OFFERED A REBUTTAL FROM THE GOVERNING BODY 19:10, 30 May 2025 Insistent Willie Collum reckons VAR were right to deny raging Rangers

their 'ghost goal' against Hibs on the final day of the Premiership season. Nico Raskin was left aghast after his apparent opener at Easter Road wasn't given by referee Nick

Walsh and his assistant referee then the on-field decision was held up by his VAR officials seconds before Hibs duly scored. The Ibrox side released an angry statement in which they claimed

they would back Rangers TV commentator John Brown to the hilt if a charge followed after he described the call made by the match officials as "corrupt". And now Collum has waded

into the furore. The former grade one admits the ball may well have crossed the line, however, he has robustly defended the SFA process by citing two flashpoints from earlier in the season

which led to public condemnation of the governing body. Host Gordon Duncan was also on hand to deliver the follow-up Collum as he offered the case for no goal. Speaking on The VAR Review,

Collum said: "Let's go back to two incidents this season first - Hibs vs Celtic, possible ball over the line, and Dundee United vs Hibs, possible handball before it goes into the

goal. Article continues below "We were criticised for both of those decisions, and rightly so, because ultimately, there was no conclusive evidence. "I know people who would look

at this decision and say 'that camera angle, for me, is conclusive.' "But the reality is, that camera angle is at an angle looking in the way, there's nothing directly in

line there. "I've quoted before, in a World Cup match, there was a similar angle shown in a Japan game [against Spain in 2022] where, if you'd used that angle, you would say

the ball was over the line. "Then when you line it up directly in line, it only needs a slight part of the ball to be touching that line. "Can the VAR and the AVAR there

categorically, 100 per cent, say the ball was over the line? Not for us. "Do I think it crossed the line? I think there's a good chance it did. "But can I be absolutely

certain of that? No. "What doesn't help in this scenario is that the ball isn't on the ground. "I think you could make a call here if the ball was on the ground, well

over, there was loads of grass between it. "In terms of that camera angle, in terms of the ball being mid-air, can we be 100%? We don't think we can be. "We've been

criticised previously, we've now moved to say we'll only give a decision like that if we've got 100% conclusive evidence, so the VAR and AVAR are correct to say there that

they don't have that evidence." Host Duncan jumped in: "I think a lot of people will say 'if that's not conclusive, then will you ever truly get conclusive

evidence?' "I feel like everyone thinks that's over the line. "So if that isn't conclusive then I'm looking for something that's very unlikely to ever be

there." Collum admitted: "If you have a goal-line camera, you've got a very good chance of catching it. "I think we could have come to a decision clearly if it's

looking right down the barrel of the goal-line. "One thing that would make this clear is goal-line technology, it takes the human element away because the watch reacts or doesn't

react and then it's absolutely categorical." Duncan, following on, asked: "On goal-line technology, I assume it goes without saying that you would welcome that if clubs were

willing to pay and make your life easier?" Collum said: "No question, because what would happen is it would remove any doubt. "It would be categorical, but where it won't

help you is for a ball in and out of play on the goal-line. "We discussed it, and I think the clubs and everybody in Scottish football would welcome it, it is in play in the

semi-finals and the final of the League Cup and Scottish Cup as we use it at the national stadium. "I don't think anybody wouldn't welcome it, but it's a cost

implication, you balance the cost with how many times in a competition in a season do you need it. Article continues below "Maybe even just one decision could be crucial in deciding

which way the championship goes, who gets into a European place, who's relegated, who ends up in a play-off. "So maybe even for the cost implication, when the stakes are so high,

it would be better to have it than not to have it. "We would definitely welcome it, and we would certainly welcome it if it was possible in each match to have goal-line cameras."