Gary Keown rages over ‘scandal’ as new Rangers v Celtic controversy emerges from Old Firm
Gary Keown has been left in a rage over a “scandal” during the clash between Rangers and Celtic as new controversy emerges from the Old Firm derby.
Brendan Rodgers’ side extended their lead at the top of the Scottish Premiership with a 2-1 win on Saturday (30 December) but the reaction to the Glasgow derby has been dominated by one contentious decision in particular.
Late in the first half, Rangers were denied a clear penalty after Alistair Johnstone handled the ball in the penalty area, with officials later claiming it hadn’t been awarded because Abdallah Sima had drifted offside, with Keown labelling the process an “absolute mess”
Writing in the Scottish Mail on Sunday (31 December, page 87) he said: “What unfolded yesterday at the Old Firm derby was an absolute mess. A scandal, really.
“Celtic’s Alistair Johnston handles inside his own box with the scoreline at 1-0 to the home side. Referee Nick Walsh misses it. The game restarts with a goal-kick. Fair enough. It’s a bad mistake, but these things happen.
“What isn’t acceptable is what unfolded next. That’s the real issue here. Whether in the ground, watching on the telly, commentating for the telly or even standing in the technical area, no one had the faintest idea what was going on. No one told them.
“It was a clear handball. Johnston’s hand wasn’t in a natural position. Why wasn’t it given as a spot-kick on review? Then, all of a sudden, into the second half, a VAR freezeframe appears from somewhere to state that Sima was actually offside by the heel of his boot moments before Johnston’s infringement.
“Yes Sima was off, but it’s still impossible to make sense of the timeline. Particularly when reports with no attributable quotes, start coming out later in the night, stating VAR Willie Collum let the whole thing slide because he didn’t think it was a clear and obvious error.
“So, why the graphic with the lines drawn to the edge of SIma’s boot then, when all that, supposedly, was irrelevant? Why was there no proper explanation? At all? It’s nuts.”
Scandal
While there are always decisions in games that see eyebrows raised and frustration emerge around at least one team, this call during Saturday’s Old Firm clash was nothing short of scandalous and Rangers are within their rights to be irritated.
Johnstone clearly handled the ball out of play and while it is disappearing to see the on-field referee miss such a clear moment in a match, VAR was introduced into the game to help referees with these exact incidents.
Instead, for a reason that still remains unclear, play was waved on after a lengthy check and after halftime the blame was placed on Sima. Why that wasn’t communicated with anybody at Celtic Park until more than 15 minutes later remains unknown.
As Keown suggests, this entire process was an absolute mess and made a mockery of Scottish football’s biggest fixture. Rangers fans are well within their rights to be absolutely furious at Saturday’s events.
In other Rangers news, Chris Sutton has urged Todd Cantwell to watch DVDs of Callum McGregor following the Old Firm derby