James McFadden and Steven Naismith react as Alfredo Morelos Rangers winner harshly ruled out
Rangers were denied victory against Motherwell after Alfredo Morelos had a goal ruled out that was ‘most likely’ onside, according to James McFadden.
The Colombian twice had the ball in the net as Gers went in search of a winner only for the offside flag to go up, with the second decision particularly debatable.
A wonderful reverse pass from Ryan Kent found the striker on the edge of the area, who then smashed a finish past Liam Kelly, but it was ruled out despite Bevis Mugabi potentially playing him on, as the Light Blues were forced to settle for a point.
Reacting on BBC Sportscene, pundits McFadden and Steven Naismith raised the spectre of VAR, with the latter saying: “The second one for me until we get better camera angles, you’re not going to get [a definitive answer].
“I think what goes against him is he’s this side of the centre half, in the line of the linesman. Fantastic finish but it’s small margins.”
McFadden went further, saying: “You can see Bevis Mugabi’s right foot is most likely playing Alfredo Morelos onside, but we can’t see along the line, we don’t have VAR that everybody keeps speaking about.
“The assistant’s looking straight across the line so you expect him to get it right, but they don’t always”.
Frustration
The call is certainly a tight one, and with the naked eye, it looks like he passed most of the last man.
But it is Mugabi’s leg, as he is making a stride to get back, that could be playing him on.
It will go down in the mind of some Gers fans as the latest example of an official making an error that cost their team in a tight game.
Fashion Sakala was widely seen to have been denied a penalty against Dundee United last week for a shirt-pull in the area, but this one is much tighter.
It is certainly not the answer to everything but as the technology is available, Scottish football is selling itself short by continuing without.
It is generally accepted that the on-pitch officials cannot see everything as it happens, so errors such as the missed penalty at Tannadyce would be caught.
But the system is not without its problems, as the decision to disallow Ryan Kent’s strike against Dortmund proved, especially as the crucial angle was not shown to the referee.
The assistant’s decision at Ibrox on Sunday was the difference between a hugely fruitful week and a frustrating one for Gers who face questions about their domestic form.
In other Rangers news, Neil McCann wishes one Light Blue would spend some time with James Tavernier to learn how to cross.