Steve Cotterill: VAR could help Shrewsbury

Shrewsbury had a difficult Christmas period losing all three of their games, but on two occasions they had a player sent off – only for it to be overturned a few days later.

Against Cheltenham Luke Leahy was sent off after getting altercation with Charlie Raglan, but following a successful appeal, he was available for the next game.

And against Fleetwood, Matthew Pennington was dismissed for handball, but that was also overturned, and the Town boss said VAR could be the answer, making the point that poor decisions like these have a bigger impact on the clubs lower down the pyramid with smaller squads.

He said: "The clubs lower down they cannot afford to have players missing.

"We can't afford to have them missing at any stage.

"But why not have VAR?

"Let me tell you now it is huge to win an appeal, it is really difficult. They go to the letter of the law, even if it is accidental it is the letter of the law.

"Will it happen in the lower leagues no it won't, and we probably know it won't, but the referees need to use a bit more common sense, that can never be a sending-off. (Pennington's against Fleetwood)."

In both the games that Town saw players incorrectly sent off in they went on to lose, and it also happened earlier in the season when Tom Flanagan was sent off against Accrington.

And the boss thinks it would not take long to set up and he feels, and they could use retired referees to help make it work.

"You know what, to be honest, it would help," he said when asked if VAR was something to be considered in League One.

"How many people would sit on the VAR panel in the Premier League, is it three of them?

"You would not need that many of them at a League One game.

"And by the way loads of retired referees could do this that are better than some of them that are referring at the moment.

"We could have it, it would not take long to set it up."