David Edgar: Rangers make SFA demand after controversial VAR incident v Celtic
Rangers have asked the Scottish FA to release the audio of the VAR officials after the incident against Celtic where Alistair Johnston appeared to handle the ball in the box, according to Heart & Hand.
Shortly before half-time in the game at Celtic Park, Johnston appeared to knock the ball out of play with his hand, although a VAR review deemed no offence occurred.
The decision was later explained by claiming that Abdallah Sima was offside, although that reasoning was not made clear in the immediate aftermath of the incident, leading to further questions over the decision.
Rangers need answers
While the later explanation did make sense, and a screenshot of the incident displayed by Sky Sports during the game appeared to clear up any dispute over whether Sima was offside, the fact nothing was mentioned during the check seems strange.
Given that the Sky Sports commentators are privy to VAR discussions and even they were not aware of any suggestions of offside seems strange, and those covering the game were left confused as to why the penalty had not been awarded.
It has been claimed since the incident that any check for offside may have been irrelevant anyway given the eventual decision by the referee was a goal kick rather than an indirect freekick or penalty either way which would usually be given in that situation.
Rangers are right to demand answers from the SFA, and if the audio clips do reveal that the decision to begin with was offside then it will be cleared up. However, if the discussions do not match the story that has been spun, serious questions will be asked of the officiating at Parkhead.
In other Rangers news, a BBC Sportsound pundit could not believe what he saw v Celtic.