Scottish FA Appoints Martin Atkinson as New VAR Manager

Martin Atkinson, a former English Premier League referee who oversaw 463 matches in the league, is set to become the VAR manager at the Scottish FA. The 53-year-old is scheduled to take up the post in early December. He will replace Jon Moss, who left the role after 52 days to assume the position of head of referees at Football Australia. Atkinson served as an official in England’s top flight for 20 years and officiated the 2015 Europa League final. He will depart from his current role as select group manager at Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) to begin working alongside Willie Collum, the SFA’s head of refereeing. Willie Collum commented on the appointment, stating, “I am delighted to appoint someone of Martin’s calibre,” and added, “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.” Collum further remarked, “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.”