Jim Goodwin insists there must be accountability on the part of the SFA following the midweek controversy over Sam Dalby’s disallowed goal against Hibs.
The striker’s second-half header looked like it had given the Terrors a 2-1 lead in the game with the goal given by referee David Dickinson.
There then followed a lengthy check by VAR Matthew MacDermid, initially for offside.
With the lines unable to be drawn, that was ruled out before the goal was then chalked off for a Dalby handball, despite no conclusive evidence showing that to be the case.
Goodwin and United were understandably furious and held talks with referees chief Willie Collum on Thursday.
The manager came away from that meeting still utterly convinced the goal should have stood and is now awaiting Collum’s official confirmation that the VAR ruling was wrong.
Goodwin said last night: “There’s a rule within the IFAB (International Football Association Board) regulations that says the VAR can only intervene with an on-field decision if they’ve got clear footage that shows it was a clear and obvious error on the park.
“Of all the video images that they showed us yesterday, there is not one single angle when you pause it or go up close that you can 100% say, there’s the handball. And that’s the bit that gets us. It’s like it’s a guess.
“It’s an assumption; it’s 100% not factual.
“So with all of that said, the message then from the VAR to the referee should have been that it looks like it hits a hand, but we cannot be 100% on that.
“You’re going to have to award the goal and that’s it. And David Gray, the guys at Hibs, nobody would have complained because nobody would have been able to say that it 100% hit Sam Dalby’s hand.
“And it’s just such an important game. Fourth and fifth, the most important fixture of the midweek programme to be ruined by a guy in a studio in Glasgow.
“There needs to be some form of accountability on the SFA’s part. I’m pretty sure Willie Collum, once he follows his own internal process, will come to the right outcome.”
Goodwin also lamented the potentially huge financial implications of the incorrect VAR decision.
He added: “There’s no guarantee if we beat Hibs and sit in third that 10 games from now we’re still going to be there.
“But had we won the game, it would have put us two points above Aberdeen, a six-point gap to Hibs.
“Third place is worth around about £5-£6 million to whoever finishes there because you’re guaranteed group stage conference football.”
Despite what happened in midweek, Goodwin believes VAR should not be scrapped.
The manager said: “Personally, I’m a big advocate for it.
“I was way back at the beginning. I know on the back of decisions like Wednesday night, the easy thing is to say, let’s throw it in the bin.
“But I think we need to invest in better equipment.”
United will be without the injured Ross Docherty and Louis Moult for Sunday’s clash with Aberdeen while Will Ferry and Luca Stephenson are rated 50/50 with calf and groin problems respectively.
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