Craig Levein fires Celtic and Rangers VAR warning and insists 'noise and intimidation' will no longer pressure referees

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Craig Levein believes VAR WON’T be a good thing for Celtic and Rangers. The new technology will be rolled out in the Scottish Premiership next season, but the decision to do so md-way through the campaign after the World Cup finals in December has caused some controversy.The system should help officials get the big calls right more often.Rangers benefitted from VAR corrections to mistakes from officials during their run to the Europa League final.

And while former Hearts and Scotland boss Levein welcomes it’s introduction, he's warned Glasgow big two that it could see them get fewer decisions in their favour.Levein claimed that, from experience, he’s seen many borderline calls go the Old Firm's way due to the pressure put on the ref by their large crowds.

And he feels VAR could remove that perceived advantage and redress the balance. “This is probably controversial,” he told BBC Sportsound. “I think it’s a great thing for Scottish football but maybe not so good for the Old Firm.”When asked why he thought that, Levein replied: “Hmm, well, why do you think?“In my time in Scottish football, I've been involved in matches where I feel the Old Firm have been given more than their share of decisions, based on crowd noise and intimidation.“Referees are human beings, and if you come under pressure like you do at those two grounds, then it’s in human nature that you’re more likely to do the thing that calms everything down.“And that's give a 50/50 decision to one of those teams.”Levein would like to see more clarity surrounding the handball rules and when those decisions are referred to VAR.He added: “Handball is the one to pick, because they’ve made a complete mess of that.“Even the offside, for a while it was contentious but I