Kris Boyd has fiercely criticized the VAR team following Rangers’ extra-time loss to Old Firm rivals Celtic, accusing them of failing to award a clear penalty. The incident occurred during extra time in a penalty shootout defeat, where Rangers were denied what many believe was a deserved spot-kick.
Rangers manager Philippe Clement has also voiced his frustration, calling on journalists to investigate why VAR failed to intervene when Celtic defender Liam Scales appeared to foul Rangers’ Vaclav Cerny inside the penalty box. Referee John Beaton issued Scales a yellow card for the challenge and awarded Rangers a free kick. However, replays showed the foul took place inside the box, prompting questions over why VAR officials Alan Muir and Frank Connor did not intervene.
Speaking on SunSport’s Go Ballistic show, Boyd was blunt in his assessment, stating there was “no excuse” for the failure to award the penalty.
“Everybody can see, even ones that wear green-tinted glasses, that the pull is inside the box,” Boyd said. “It goes in the box and the penalty should be given. It doesn’t matter when you start pulling the shirt, it’s when you let go. The player is in the box when the Celtic player lets go of the shirt, that is a penalty kick, there is no getting away from it.”
Boyd did not hold back in his criticism of the officials, acknowledging Beaton’s decision to award a free kick but pointing the finger at the VAR team for missing the call.
“People can have a go at John Beaton, I thought he refereed the game really well yesterday,” Boyd added. “From where he was, he thought it was a foul and brought it back for the initial contact. The issue here is that VAR has let John Beaton down. Alan Muir is the VAR, Frank Connor is the assistant VAR, what were they doing? Seriously, what were they doing?”
The former Rangers striker further stressed that with modern technology, there was no reason for the decision to be missed.
“You go back to the old days there were decisions that both teams could feel aggrieved with over the years, but there’s really no excuse anymore,” Boyd said. “Plain and simple. Because you’ve got the video there, you can look at it, and if one person misses it, the other person can see it. There’s no reason for them to miss this.”
Boyd was adamant that VAR could have overturned Beaton’s decision without needing to consult the on-field referee.
“People are saying call John Beaton over to the monitor to have a look. He doesn’t even need to be called over to the monitor, it’s a clear penalty kick,” Boyd concluded. “All the VAR needs to turn around and say is, ‘it’s black and white, it’s a penalty kick, we’re overruling that, it’s a penalty kick, the pull of the shirt finishes inside the box.’”