IN the end it was a landslide. Six years on from the initial pilot scheme of introducing VAR to the Dutch Eredivisie, Scottish clubs yesterday held a vote on whether or not to implement the technology on these shores. The result could have hardly been more emphatic.

Of the SPFL’s 42 members, only one unnamed club voted against the proposal that had the backing of every other team. It means that for the second half of next season, the cameras will be in place and officials will be ready to scrutinise controversial decisions with the help of television replays.

For some, it’s a long overdue introduction. The technology was implemented in many of Europe’s major leagues in 2017 and there are those that contend that Scottish football has been slow to act. However, SPFL chief executive Neil Doncaster explained why he feels now is the right time to bring VAR to Scotland.

“The SPFL chose not to be an early adopter of VAR technology to allow time for teething issues to be ironed out by those leagues who adopted VAR early,” he said.

“I believe this was the right decision and that VAR will help referees to ensure tight decisions are more often the right ones and will support a higher standard and more consistent level of decision-making.

“Scottish referees are fully on-board with this innovation and have been overwhelmingly supportive about the introduction of VAR during our consultation process with our partners at the Scottish FA.”

It isn’t hard to imagine why referees would be keen on VAR’s introduction; ultimately, they want to make as many correct decisions as possible and there is little doubt that access to replays should help in this regard. Managers have often called for VAR in the aftermath of a match that rested on a controversial incident and they have now got their wish.

Ian Maxwell, the Scottish FA’s chief executive, yesterday hailed the technology as vital to the long-term development of the game. “Throughout the consultation process we were encouraged that the principle of VAR was supported by clubs, players, coaches and match officials.

“The benefits of VAR are clear and with the commitment of the Scottish FA, SPFL and now the approval of the league’s 42 member clubs, we can now look forward to continuing the implementation process with a view to VAR being a key part of Scottish football’s future.”

Eagle-eyed readers will notice that there is one fairly significant stakeholder in our game that, by and large, wasn’t canvassed for its take on VAR’s introduction: supporters. Ordinary punters who regularly attend matches weren’t asked for their take on it all, which is a little curious. After all, it is generally accepted that while video technology can help officials with difficult decisions, it is fans at the game who are left picking up the tab.

Those at the ground won’t get to see the replays and whenever a decision is referred to VAR, there’s not much they can do but wait for a minute or two for someone watching on a screen miles away to decide what’s happened. For all the benefits of VAR, there is little doubt that it detracts from the match-going experience for ordinary fans.

In terms of the cost, better-performing teams will foot a larger chunk of the bill. Similar to the sliding scale used to award prize money based on final league position, clubs at the top end of the Premiership will be asked to contribute more than those towards the bottom. The whole shebang will cost around £1.2million – the top-flight’s champions will pay roughly £195,000 per season, while the twelfth-placed side will cough up around £67,000.

The timing of the implementation is a little strange too. The vote has presumably come too late to get everything up and running for the beginning of the new campaign but next season will be something of a novelty. The World Cup will be held in winter for the first time later this year – Qatar’s scorching temperatures meant that playing there in the summer was a non-starter – which leaves Scottish clubs with a two-month window in November and December where they will have time to make the necessary preparations.

It means that VAR will be in operation for the second half of the Premiership campaign – and the semi-finals and final of the Premier Sports Cup – which is a little unusual. In essence, this means that the rules for the competition will be changed as it reaches the halfway stage.

Of course, VAR cannot be considered a magic bullet that will solve Scottish football’s problems overnight. As we have seen elsewhere in Europe and in continental competition, mistakes are still made. The technology is still operated by fallible human beings – and in our case here in Scotland, by officials who are not full-time – and there will still be controversial conclusions drawn from replays.

Those lines to determine whether or not a player is offside still gave to be drawn by a person, and the question of when to draw them (is it at the moment the passer of the ball makes first contact with it, for instance, or is it a few milliseconds later when the ball leaves his foot?) remains more difficult than it first appears. And that’s without getting into the regular disputes when a goal is chopped off because the scorer’s left eyebrow was marginally offside.

What Scottish football can do, however, is learn from the lessons offered up by other nations. It is a significant advantage to examine where countries that have already implemented VAR got it right and where they were led astray, and ensure we don’t make the same old mistakes.

There have been teething problems elsewhere. In England, there are plenty of examples of VAR taking too long, of replays not really helping to shine a light on an incident or the technology wading in to decisions that are not the result of a ‘clear and obvious error’; VAR’s stated purpose. But over time the wrinkles have been ironed out and protocols have been set. Earlier this year, the Italian FA announced that it would launch VAR-specific courses to help referees operate the technology effectively and the SFA would do well to follow Italy’s lead if the technology is to be a success.