Willie Collum delivers firm Rangers and Celtic VAR verdicts as controversial flashpoints scrutinised

SFA refereeing chief Willie Collum defended VAR decisions in Rangers v St Mirren and Celtic v Dundee United, backing the Penrice penalty and Donovan's yellow card.

Willie Collum, the SFA's head of refereeing, has defended two controversial VAR decisions that sparked debate in Scottish football. On the James Penrice penalty awarded to Rangers against St Mirren, Collum stated that referee Nick Walsh was correct, citing contact at foot and thigh level from Samuel Ramos.

"The referee is very, very close to the incident," Collum said on the Scottish Football VAR Review show. "There is contact and the player takes a huge risk. As soon as the referee blows the whistle, we fully support this decision."

Collum also backed the decision not to upgrade Colby Donovan's high lunge on Zac Sapsford to a red card in Celtic's 2-2 draw with Dundee United. He noted that Donovan retracted his leg after winning the ball, attempting to withdraw from the challenge.

"You could easily use criteria here on the height and say it's high up on the leg, therefore you could try and justify a red card," Collum explained, but VAR Chris Graham and referee Steven McLean determined a yellow was appropriate.