The SFA have named veteran Premier League ref Martin Atkinson as its new VAR manager.
The role had been vacant since Atkinson’s former colleague Jon Moss left for a new job in Australia. But the governing body have moved quickly to bring in Atkinson who is currently Select Group Manager for PGMOL. he’s set to take on his new role in December and will work closely with Willie Collum in charge of the Clydesdale House operation.
Atkinson, who refereed 462 games in the Premier League before retiring in 2022, said: “I look forward to this exciting new challenge and have been impressed by the significant strides forward Scottish football has taken with VAR implementation since Willie arrived. I look forward to continuing that work and supporting Willie, the match officials and the team at the Scottish FA.”
And SFA head of refereeing Collum added: “I am delighted to appoint someone of Martin’s calibre as VAR Manager. I did not expect to be recruiting for that position again so quickly, but Jon received a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and went with our best wishes.
“I am pleased Martin has agreed to continue the considerable work undertaken to date in optimising our VAR operation and I’m sure our VAR officials and match officials generally will look forward to working with someone of Martin’s experience at Clydesdale House, as will I and the rest of my team.”