Ally McCoist and Andy Walker rage after Kevin Clancy decision in Celtic v Rangers on Sky Sports
Sky Sports pundits Ally McCoist and Andy Walker were emphatic in their disagreement with referee Kevin Clancy’s decision to disallow a goal from Alfredo Morelos at Parkhead.
The flash point moment came in the 20th minute from a Rangers corner. First contact appeared to come from Celtic’s Canadian defender Alastair Johnston, with him and Morelos grappling. It was very much a 50/50 contest with the Colombian connecting with the ball to put it into the net.
What looked like an opener for Rangers was immediately ruled out by Kevin Clancy, with no meaningful second look on the cameras. Nick Walsh on VAR duty did not ask Clancy to go and look at the pitch side monitor.
Instantly, Ally McCoist was furious with the call from the officials. Even former Celtic player Walker agreed.
“It’s never a free kick,” he said live on Sky Sports Main Event. [08 April, 12:51]. “Honest to goodness, it is absolutely embarrassing, we’re a laughing stock.”
Walker stated, “I don’t think it’s a foul either.”
Super Ally raged at the application of VAR or rather the lack of it in this instance. Regardless of the outcome of the game, we will be hearing plenty about this incident.
To make matters worse for Rangers, Kyogo grabbed the first goal of the match for Celtic just a few minutes later. Parity was restored in the dying moments of the first half with a sublime James Tavernier free kick.
Ridiculous
We knew before the game that there would be huge pressure on Kevin Clancy. In front of a capacity partisan crowd due to the away fan ban, there was always potential for the referee to be swayed by the home fans.
Would the same decision have been given by Clancy at the other end to rule out that type of goal for Celtic?
Giving the decision is one thing but to not even look at it was ridiculous. “Embarrassing” seems very appropriate to say the least. There will be absolutely no surprise on the difference of opinion from those of a Rangers and Celtic perspective but the more we can see of the coming together in the box as well as hearing from objective viewpoints, the better.
Once again, Clancy is front and centre in a highly contentious call against Rangers. The response from Ibrox after the game, if it comes, will be very interesting.
In other news, Finance Expert takes swipe at Celtic fans over continual Rangers conspiracy theories.