2 Premiership clubs to ditch VAR for Cup clashes but curious rule means Celtic and Rangers MUST have tech

Two of the four Premier Sports Cup quarter-finals won't have VAR this weekend

Two of the four Premier Sports Cup clashes this weekend will reportedly ditch VAR - but it could create controversy with the two other quarter-final ties keeping the tech in place.

Motherwell host Dundee United on Friday night while Aberdeen host League Two Spartans on Saturday and since neither game has been picked for live broadcast on the Premier Sports TV channels, competition regulations state VAR is optional. The Daily Mail report that, as a result, all four clubs involved have decided not to use it – each saving around £16,000 as a result.

The problem this creates is that both Rangers vs Dundee at Ibrox and Celtic vs Falkirk at Parkhead will have the technology in operation, since the same rules say that games broadcast live on TV must use the tech where possible. Both of those games will be on Premier Sports 1, while the other two encounters are only available via pay-per-view on Premier Player.

It could mean a potentially dramatic difference in how ties in the same round are officiated. The technology has been subject to plenty debate since its introduction to Scottish football in October 2022, and just last weekend both Steven Naismith and Derek McInnes were left raging with the kind of perceived inconsistencies it was brought in to eradicate.

And it's possible even more of those consistencies could grab headlines this weekend, given half the teams have VAR in operation and the other half do not. The draw for the semi-finals takes place on Sunday after Celtic's clash with the Bairns, the final of the four last-eight clashes, takes place.

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