Livingston boss insists ditching VAR was a 'no-brainer' for Scottish Cup clash with Inverness

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Livingston boss David Martindale admits it makes no financial sense to operate VAR for tomorrow’s Scottish Cup last-16 clash with Inverness Caledonian Thistle.The Lions host the Championship outfit looking to book their place in the quarter-finals for the first time in 18 years.But despite the Tony Macaroni Arena side needing to have video technology available for Premiership clashes, using it in the Scottish Cup is optional for top flight clubs if the match isn’t televised.Martindale confessed it was a ‘no-brainer’ to do without it given the costs involved and the likely small attendance taking in the fixture.He said: “The reason we aren’t using VAR this weekend is down to the money.

We voted for VAR but where does the £85,000 come from every season? My budget.“If we don’t get a cup run, finish top six, get European football, then it comes out of my budget.

That then makes us less competitive by cutting the budget. For a club like us how do we balance the books?”He added: “Inverness get 40 per cent of the gate when you cut the costs back.

You would have to take the VAR money out of that before Inverness get their share.“It might cost Inverness a few thousand pounds to play in this game and then there won’t be a huge number of fans in the stadium.