Rangers claim Scottish football’s credibility has been damaged by the officiating blunder which cost them a penalty in Sunday’s Premier Sports Cup final defeat by Celtic.
The Scottish Football Association’s head of referees Willie Collum admitted on Thursday that the way Rangers were denied a spot-kick at Hampden Park by the VAR team was “unacceptable”.
In extra time, with the two Glasgow giants tied at 3-3, referee John Beaton blew for a foul just outside the Hoops’ box when Celtic defender Liam Scales fouled Gers winger Vaclav Cerny.
However, television replays showed the infringement carried on inside the penalty area and, after the free-kick came to nothing, Celtic went on to win 5-4 on penalties after a draw in 120 minutes.
Afterwards, Rangers boss Philippe Clement described the absence of intervention by VAR Alan Muir and assistant VAR Frank Connor as “really weird”.
In a response to Collum’s admission, a Rangers spokesperson said: “Rangers FC notes the Scottish FA’s admission of an officiating failure following the non-award of a penalty to Rangers in Sunday’s Premier Sports Cup final and welcomes the transparency from the Scottish FA.
“However, for such a failure to occur during one of Scotland’s showcase matches is not only hugely disappointing for the club and its supporters, but also damaging for the credibility of Scottish football more widely.
“We acknowledge the Scottish FA’s determination to use this and other decision-making failures as opportunities to drive improvements in officiating standards.
“As a club, we will continue to engage with the Scottish FA in an attempt to improve officiating standards for the benefit of all clubs in Scotland.”
