Barry Ferguson shares new ‘blame’ verdict as Rangers reach ‘boiling point’ after Celtic controversy
Barry Ferguson has admitted that he doesn’t blame Rangers for their outrage with the SFA and its officials following a controversial decision during their clash with Celtic.
The Light Blues were denied a penalty for an obvious handball after a lengthy VAR check in the Old Firm clash at Parkhead, with the SFA claiming later in the game that it hadn’t been awarded for an offside in the build-up.
However, the VAR audio has demonstrated that there was never an offside mentioned in the review and Ferguson has admitted that he understands the Gers’ frustration and has called for greater “transparency” in decision-making.
Writing for the Daily Record on Friday (5 January) he said: “What came next – over the course of almost half an hour – has now brought the game in this country back to boiling point with my old club demanding answers from the men in charge at Hampden. I must be very clear here, I don’t blame them one bit.
“What we need in this country, where VAR is concerned, is less secrecy and more transparency. But what we got at Celtic Park during that baffling 30 minutes, was completely the opposite.
“What seems obvious to me is that the process broke down at a critical moment in a massive match. First of all, I have no issue with Nick Walsh for not spotting the handball in the first place.
“The whole point of VAR – and the reason the clubs are paying for it – is because at that moment the process is supposed to kick in.
“Willie Collum could see from the replays that the ref had made a clear and obvious error because Johnston’s hand got the final touch. For the life of me, I can’t understand why he didn’t call Walsh over to the monitor at that point to take another look for himself and then make a decision based on replays that weren’t available to him at the time.”
No blame
Rangers are completely within their rights to be outraged at the VAR decision against Celtic. The referee and the VAR’s decision-making arguably cost them in the biggest game of their season and they then attempted to cover it up.
The Light Blues have been hard done by and have fairly asked the SFA to help them understand why and have then continued to be furious when they have found out that there was no mention of an offside in the initial decision.
Ultimately, the referees in Scotland have the power to decide crucial matches and therefore the title race. While the officials at Celtic Park clearly didn’t deliberately want to scupper Philippe Clement’s side, Rangers are allowed to ask for more clarity.
Whether or not the SFA will actually co-operate fully remains to be seen, but the best Rangers supporters can hope for is that this latest controversy will lead to positive changes to officiating in the Scottish game.
In other Rangers news, Lawrence Shankland reportedly wants a move to Ibrox this January and the Gers stance has been revealed