Alan Muir Drops Bombshell Celtic and Rangers Admission After SFA Dismissal
In a stunning turn of events, former Scottish Football Association (SFA) VAR official Alan Muir has broken his silence following his dismissal earlier this week, delivering a jaw-dropping admission about his handling of key Celtic and Rangers matches. The 49-year-old, whose departure from his role as a full-time Video Assistant Referee was confirmed on April 8, 2025, by “mutual consent” after crisis talks with SFA bosses, has ignited fresh controversy with revelations that could further inflame tensions in the already combustible Old Firm rivalry.
Muir’s exit came on the heels of a series of high-profile errors that drew fierce criticism from both Celtic and Rangers camps, culminating in his position becoming untenable. Now, speaking candidly for the first time since his sacking, Muir has admitted that the pressure of officiating matches involving the Glasgow giants often left him second-guessing his decisions—a confession that has raised serious questions about the integrity of VAR in Scottish football.
“I’ll be honest, there were times with Celtic and Rangers games where I felt the weight of it all,” Muir revealed in an exclusive interview. “You know every call is going to be dissected, and you’re not just refereeing a match—you’re refereeing a war. I’d sit there in the VAR room, watching replays, and think, ‘If I get this wrong, it’s not just a mistake, it’s a headline for weeks.’ That got to me more than I’d like to admit.”
Muir went further, hinting at the psychological toll of the scrutiny: “There were moments where I’d lean one way on a call, not because the evidence was clear, but because I knew one side would take it better than the other. It’s not something I’m proud of, but it’s the truth. The noise around those games—it’s deafening.”
While Muir stopped short of naming specific incidents, his comments have inevitably cast a shadow over several contentious decisions from the 2024-25 season, leaving fans and pundits to speculate about which calls might have been swayed by external pressure rather than the rulebook.
Muir’s tenure as a VAR official was marred by a string of blunders that infuriated both halves of Glasgow. One of the most glaring came during the Premier Sports League Cup Final in December 2024, when he failed to recommend a review of a challenge by Celtic’s Liam Scales on Rangers’ Vaclav Cerny. Replays suggested it warranted a penalty for Rangers, but the call stood, and Celtic went on to lift the trophy on penalties. Rangers issued a furious statement afterward, expressing “serious concerns” about Muir’s competence, while SFA head of refereeing Willie Collum later conceded the error was “unacceptable.”
Celtic, too, had their grievances. In February 2025, Muir disallowed a goal by Daizen Maeda against Hibernian, ruling that Alistair Johnston’s cross had gone out of play—despite inconclusive evidence. Celtic lost the match, and manager Brendan Rodgers slammed the decision as “guesswork,” a view later validated by the SFA’s Key Match Incident (KMI) panel. That incident, coupled with an earlier call at Fir Park where Muir denied Celtic a penalty, proved to be the final straw.
The timing of Muir’s admission couldn’t be worse for the SFA, already under fire for its handling of refereeing controversies this season. Celtic fans have seized on his comments as evidence of bias against their club, with one supporter tweeting, “Muir basically admitting he bottled calls because he couldn’t handle the heat—how many points did that cost us?” Meanwhile, Rangers supporters have pointed to the cup final debacle, with a fan group declaring, “He’s confessed to crumbling under pressure, and we’re the ones who paid for it with silverware.”
Pundits have been equally scathing. Former Celtic striker Chris Sutton called Muir’s remarks “a disgrace,” arguing, “If you can’t make decisions based on what you see, not what you feel, you’ve got no business in that job.” Ex-Rangers star Kris Boyd, however, took a more sympathetic tone: “It’s brutal up here. The Old Firm isn’t just football—it’s a cauldron. I don’t envy anyone in that VAR chair.”
Muir’s departure—and his explosive follow-up—has thrust the SFA’s refereeing department into the spotlight once again. With VAR already a lightning rod for criticism since its introduction, his admission that external pressures influenced his judgment could erode what little trust remains in the system. The SFA has yet to respond officially, but sources suggest they are bracing for a backlash as the fallout threatens to overshadow the season’s climax.
For Celtic and Rangers, the revelations add another layer of intrigue to their rivalry. Interim Rangers boss Barry Ferguson, who has already clashed with the SFA over perceived inconsistencies, is likely to use this as ammunition in his ongoing crusade against officiating standards. Celtic’s Brendan Rodgers, meanwhile, may see it as validation of his long-standing complaints about VAR’s implementation in Scotland.
As for Muir himself, he appears resigned to his fate. “I gave it everything, but maybe I wasn’t cut out for that level of spotlight,” he said. “I’m not the first ref to struggle with Celtic and Rangers, and I won’t be the last. But I wish I’d handled it better—for the game’s sake.”
With the dust still settling on his dismissal, Alan Muir’s parting shot has ensured that his legacy will be debated as fiercely as any of the calls he made—or didn’t make. For Scottish football, it’s another stark reminder that, in the crucible of the Old Firm, even those behind the screens can’t escape the heat.
