After the recent Celtic v Rangers Auld Firm match Rangers contacted the Scottish Football Association (SFA) to seek clarity on the events and decision making of the match officials around the hand-ball incident that took place in the first half of the match.
Rangers’ Request for VAR Audio
Rangers asked the SFA to provide them with the VAR audio to understand why no penalty was given for a clear handball by Celtic’s Alistair Johnston.
The club wanted to know the decision-making process, as the decision was not communicated to their team and not made public at the time.
Rangers stressed the need for transparency for VAR to succeed in Scottish football.
SFA’s Response
After a meeting involving Rangers, the SFA, and VAR officials, the SFA issued a statement saying there was a consensus that the VAR decision of no handball was incorrect.
Rangers raised concerns about the speed of the VAR decision and the delay in releasing offside images during the second half.
The SFA explained that the handball incident was subjective, and VAR didn’t see it as a clear and obvious error requiring an on-field review.
The SFA clarified that offside wasn’t considered in the VAR’s decision on the handball, and if an on-field review had happened, an offside would have been identified.
The SFA emphasised that there was a consensus that the incident wouldn’t have led to a penalty and had no impact on the final outcome.
SFA Disappointed in Rangers’ Statement
The SFA expressed disappointment in Rangers’ statement, citing a private briefing they considered constructive and amicable.
The SFA noted the subjectivity of the handball incident and VAR’s perspective that it wasn’t a clear and obvious error.
Ongoing efforts were mentioned to review and share key match incidents with clubs, highlighting a commitment to transparency.
The SFA criticised posts from a media partner detailing rejected requests from the private meeting, urging club representatives to act responsibly, especially in light of recent incidents compromising match officials’ safety in European football.
So what does it all mean?
The decision not to review the handball incident as a potential penalty to Rangers after a handball is now widely accepted as a mistake. No penalty would have been awarded regardless as there was an offside in the Attacking Phase of Play (APP).
As no Penalty check was carried out at the time there was no reason to check for offside in the build up. So why was an image released showing an offside? Our view is that the incident was reviewed as the views of most poeple watching the game clearly felt a penalty should have been awarded.
When an offside was discovered in the build up the officials likely felt this was an opportunity to silence these opinions. The reality is that this only made things worse, with many feeling they had been mislead.
There are certainly lessons for the SFA here when it comes to being transparent and improvements have to be made in they way they communicate with broadcasters, clubs and fans!