Rangers hard done by as Keith Hackett left ‘surprised’ by call vs Celtic
Rangers were adamant that Celtic’s equalising goal should have been disallowed for offside.
Rangers enjoyed a bright start to the game at Celtic Park, with Mikey Moore giving the Gers the lead after just nine minutes.
But 14 minutes later, Hyun-Jun Yang levelled the score, after he latched on to the end of Arne Engel’s cross.
A VAR check followed the goal, with Rangers adamant that there was an offside offence just mere seconds before the ball struck the back of the net.
And after reviewing the footage, Keith Hackett believes that Celtic’s goal against Rangers should have been disallowed.
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Celtic fortunate to see equalising goal stand
Rangers have had their fair share of VAR errors this season, and there is a general consensus that they were on the receiving end of another.
While Yang himself was onside after firing the ball beyond Jack Butland, there were two Celtic players standing in an offside position, one of whom was in the line of sight of the Gers goalkeeper.
And when speaking exclusively to Ibrox News, Hackett was left surprised that VAR didn’t rule the goal out for the offence.
The former PGMOL chief said: “I am surprised that the VAR has allowed this goal to stand. The Celtic player was clearly in an offside position in the line of sight of the goalkeeper.
“The offside law states: Interfering with an opponent by preventing an opponent from playing or being able to play the ball by clearly obstructing the opponent’s line of vision.”
In this instance, it would have been the latter applied, given that there was what appeared to be a clear infringement on Butland.
What did Pat Nevin say about Celtic goal?
While Hackett is adamant that the goal should have been pulled back for an offside offence, Pat Nevin defended the on-field decision.
Via BBC Radio Scotland, he said: “He was in front of the keeper, and he was in an offside position. But the keeper wasn’t saving it.”
However, it was clear that Butland’s line of sight was impeded, as the Celtic forward moved in front of the Rangers goalkeeper, while the ball was in flight.
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