VAR called out as John Beaton could never see Rangers controversy
Rangers should’ve been awarded a penalty in their Premier Sports Cup final loss to Celtic, Mike McCurry says.
The ex-referee believes the foul on Vaclav Cerny should’ve resulted in a spot kick for the Light Blues as they lost to their rivals 5-4 on penalties at Hampden Park after a 3-3 draw on Sunday [15 December].
McCurry took aim at VAR for not assisting John Beaton in the matter, with the Czech forward’s foot on the line of the 18-yard box as Liam Scales brought him down.
Speaking on the Rangers Review [17 December], the former Scottish FA referee said: “100 per cent, the correct decision there is a penalty kick. I don’t fault John at all. He could never see that.
“But in a day and age where goals are disallowed for offside because of the width of a toenail, VAR really need to be involved in that.
“We don’t currently know whether VAR scrutinised that decision or whether they just had a cursory glance at it and said go with the on-field decision. Or whether they didn’t look at it at all.”
Rangers hard done by VAR error v Celtic in final
The Bears put in one of their best performances of the season at Hampden against their Old Firm rivals but were unable to get the better of them.
Nedim Bajrami gave the Gers the lead in the first half before Celtic made a comeback after the break.
Philippe Clement’s team were resilient, though, and equalised twice in the second half to take the game to extra-time.
With the game tied at 3-3, Cerny was brought down by Scales before the game eventually went to penalties, and Rangers have every reason to feel hard done by it.
The Scottish Football Association must clarify what happened in the VAR room during the incident, although the Ibrox faithful won’t care much as the result can’t be overturned.
Clement and his team undoubtedly left Hampden with their heads held high, but the Light Blues need to beat Celtic in their next meeting on 2 January to avoid having an embarrassing record of seven winless games against them.
In other Rangers news, Alan Hutton was shocked at a wage bill reveal after what he was told.
For more Rangers news, follow us on Facebook or join our brand new WhatsApp Channel for instant updates to be sent straight to your phone.