Keith Jackson reacts to Rangers Old Firm controversy after VAR incident v Celtic
Keith Jackson has shared his reaction to the VAR controversy during Rangers’ Old Firm clash with Celtic, admitting he thinks the incident “stinks”.
The Light Blues were beaten 2-1 by Brendan Rodgers’ side on Saturday (30 December) but felt they should have been awarded a penalty in the first half as the ball appeared to strike Alistair Johnston’s hand in the box.
After a lengthy VAR check, no spot-kick was awarded with the justification later being that Abdallah Sima had drifted offside in the build-up, but Jackson was unimpressed by the process saying it left a “lot to be desired”.
Writing for the Daily Record on Monday (1 January) he said: “It stinks. The officials may have got to the right decision in the end but the way they got there leaves a lot to be desired.”
It stinks
As Jackson suggested, the officials at Celtic Park ultimately got to the right decision as Sima did appear to stray ever so slightly offside in the build-up to the handball, but the way in which they got there was absolutely appalling to see.
According to commentators on Sky Sports and those in charge at Rangers, the offside call wasn’t given as the reason for the penalty not being given until well into the second half, suggesting it hadn’t been checked during the initial incident.
That means that the VAR would have felt as though the referee on the day had not made a clear and obvious mistake in their decision and therefore stood by the call, even if Johnston’s handball was clear for everyone to see.
So far this season, the officiating in Scottish football has been nowhere near good enough for the standard of football being played. This has to improve sooner rather than later or more and more games will be decided by referees and VAR officials.
Saturday’s decision stunk and needs to be the turning point in the Scottish Premiership. A moment of madness from the officials at Celtic Park could have a huge impact on where the title ends up at the end of the season.
In other Rangers news, one pundit has urged Philippe Clement to “pay the money” to sign Lawrence Shankland after defeat to Celtic