Former Celtic player Kris Commons has called on football's rule makers to review the handball law.

The Hoops hero reckons the Scottish game could be ruined by the introduction of VAR otherwise.

Commons has reviewed the weekend's action, focussing mainly on the controversial penalty given against Celtic in their 2-1 win over Ross County on Saturday.

Matt O'Riley was punished for a handball on the edge of the area by referee David Munro, as he pointed to the spot. He was backed up by VAR.

However, several pundits and other ex-professionals have hit out at the decision, insisting there was nothing the Hoops player could have done to avoid the ball from hitting his arm.

Commons reckons the World Cup break now presents the perfect opportunity to assess the handball rule and how the officials should apply it.

He wrote in his Daily Mail column: "Robbie Neilson called it a shambles. David Martindale admitted he doesn't know how the game is being refereed any more. Ange Postecoglou took a vow of silence after previously making his feelings clear.

"Another weekend of Scottish football brought more VAR mayhem. Leading managers are hugely frustrated about how the system is operating after its introduction. I can understand why.

"We do have to make some allowances for it being new here. But there are a few big things that need to be sorted out. And not all of them are directly under the control of Scottish officials sitting in front of the screens.

"The time being taken to make decisions certainly is and it's way too long. VAR also seems like it's being called into action too often in some games.

"At Tynecastle, people were left questioning who was actually in charge of the match. Referee Craig Napier? Or VAR? That shouldn't be the case.

"The constant interruptions are driving people mad. But the application of the handball rule is another thing entirely. Unless that is actually looked at again and changed back to something more reliant on common sense then a big part of the VAR problem isn't going to change.

"Were Scottish refs really missing a glut of justifiable handball penalties before the system was introduced? I'm not sure they were, but now you can barely go a round of matches without one being awarded.

"On the previous weekend, Celtic were punished for the ball hitting Alexandro Bernabei on his trailing arm. Then we had three VAR handball penalties in Livingston's midweek win over Aberdeen. And another one on Saturday when Matt O'Riley was penalised to give Ross County the lead at Parkhead.

"David Munro took that decision and it was upheld by VAR. But O'Riley was bang-on when he said he didn't know what else he could have done with his body or the position of his arm.

"It generates frustration among players. And causes a constant debate about whether it's the right call or not. I feel the insight of an experienced, ex-professional could have value as part of the whole VAR process.

"Referees now are going by the absolute letter of the law rather than common sense. The more they look at replays, the more doubt is put in their minds.

"They're not actually making a football decision, if you follow. It's almost like they are drawing a picture and deciding if one box can be ticked within the rulebook to justify a penalty.

"If you have an ex-professional there, they would say: 'Look, his arm is by his side. It's not deviated from a natural path or stopped a goalscoring opportunity. It's just one of those unfortunate errors.'

"We need to get back to that way of thinking. In Formula One, some things get referred to the stewards and are just put down as a 'racing incident'. Well, some of these recent decisions can just be put down as 'football incidents'. There's nothing there that really merits punishment.

"Of course, the actual wording of the handball rule isn't down to the SFA or Scottish referees. That's a job for the international lawmakers at IFAB. They need to look at it. Is there intent? Is the arm position unnatural? The current view on it isn't great for the game overall."

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