SFA to have ‘hell to pay’ as Rangers VAR update emerges from Sky Sports News
The SFA will have “hell to pay” if they don’t provide Rangers with the audio of the incident where they were denied a first-half penalty against Celtic on Saturday (30 December), according to Gary Keown.
Writing on page 87 of the Scottish Mail on Sunday (31 December), the journalist said the Gers have the right to demand the audio after Sky Sports News reported on Sunday that the club have asked for a copy of the officials’ real-time discussions around the incident.
He added that VAR should be about transparency, but he believes that “couldn’t be further removed from it” right now, as the Light Blues fell to a 2-1 defeat at Parkhead.
In the dark
This is yet another incident where everyone apart from the officials is being kept in the dark following a controversial decision.
There is absolutely no doubt that the ball hit the hand of Alistair Johnston before VAR seemingly decided that it wasn’t an unnatural movement from the Celtic right-back despite many stakeholders thinking otherwise.
On the live TV coverage, it wasn’t revealed until the second half that Gers forward Abdallah Sima was actually offside in the build-up and that, potentially, would’ve prevented a penalty from being given anyway.
But it’s so far unclear whether the officials didn’t give the spot kick on that basis or because they didn’t actually feel the handball was enough, which would be nothing short of ridiculous.
The SFA must release the audio to clear the situation up as everyone has the right to know what went on and why the officials came to the decision they did at such an important moment in the game.
In other Rangers news, Jamie O’Hara has shared his Old Firm regret live on air.