Sky Sports disagreement emerges after Rangers controversy v Hibernian
Dermot Gallagher believes VAR didn’t want to undermine John Beaton by overturning the penalty in the Rangers draw against Hibernian.
The retired Irish referee feels Beaton penalised Ianis Hagi for being “clumsy” during his challenge on Josh Campbell in the 3-3 draw at Easter Road on Sunday (5 January).
Stephen Warnock hit back though, disagreeing with Gallagher over the footage.
Speaking on Sky Sports News’ Ref Watch (6 January), Gallagher said: “The referee thinks he’s [Hagi] clumsy, thinks he doesn’t get the ball.
“This goes all the way back to on-field decisions. You want referees to be empowered to make decisions. The referee has made that decision. I don’t think VAR is going to overturn that.”
Warnock and Sue Smith, who were also on the panel, didn’t believe it was a penalty, with the former English defender saying, “I don’t understand that decision.”
Ianis Hagi decision baffling in Rangers draw v Hibernian
The Gers weren’t at their best defensively against Hibs, but they had arguably done enough to get the three points.
Hamza Igamane scored a perfect hat-trick as he continues his fine form since pipping Cyriel Dessers in the pecking order.
After the Moroccan’s first two goals, Martin Boyle got the hosts back into the game before equalising from the spot at the hour mark.
Rangers were the better of the two teams until the penalty decision derailed them far too much.
Igamane gave the Light Blues another lead, but they failed to hold onto it as Rocky Bashiri put a dagger in the Ibrox faithful’s hearts.
While the Light Blues should’ve arguably defended better, Beaton’s call that led to the equaliser needs to be scrutinised.
The Bears were on the receiving end of some questionable decisions in the Premier Sports Cup, but things don’t seem to have changed since then, despite the Scottish FA taking action against the VAR team at Hampden.
Clement will rightfully be aggrieved at how the result turned out, and the pressure on his future will mount once again.
In other Rangers news, the Belgian manager is set for another round of speculation about his future.
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