Rangers v Celtic: Stuart McCall surprised by one VAR controversy in second half
Former Rangers midfielder Stuart McCall was left bewildered as Cyriel Dessers had a goal disallowed as the Gers drew their Old Firm clash against Celtic 3-3 at Ibrox.
Co-commentating for BBC Radio Scotland’s Sportsound, McCall voiced his confusion as to why VAR had to intervene and bring the game to a halt just as Dessers had prodded home from close range to draw Rangers level at 2-2.
It would soon be 2-1 again however, with referee John Beaton called over to the pitchside monitor and eventually ruling the goal out in favour of a Celtic free-kick, citing a borderline foul from Tom Lawrence on Tomoki Iwata in the build-up.
McCall said: “My initial reaction was it could have been a foul, but he’s been letting so many things go, the little free-kicks when he’s been trying to get the game going, and then as soon as he gets called to the monitor he gives a free-kick.”
VAR a talking point as Rangers v Celtic goes to the wire
It wasn’t the first instance of refereeing in this match that drew the ire of the Ibrox faithful, with Cameron Carter-Vickers somehow avoiding a booking despite kicking the ball away from a free-kick he himself conceded!
With Celtic 2-0 up following a dominant first half, Rangers rallied in the second and James Tavernier made up from a costly error in the opening seconds to pull one back from the spot.
Dessers’ being denied by VAR half didn’t stop the Gers from pressing for that elusive equaliser though, and Abdallah Sima found it with just four minutes left on the clock.
Within 60 seconds of the restart, Celtic were back in front again through Adam Idah, but eight minutes of added time gave Rabbi Matondo a chance to equalise once more, and he did just that with a sumptuous finish to make it 3-3, ending an absolute classic of an Old Firm derby.
In other Rangers’ news, James McClean was quick to give his thoughts following Tavernier’s howler in the opening seconds of the match.
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