Ally McCoist has launched a scathing attack on Scottish football officials following Rangers’ narrow defeat to Celtic in Saturday’s Scottish Cup final. The controversy stems from a disallowed Rangers goal in the second half, which McCoist believes should have stood.
Rangers thought they had taken the lead through Abdallah Sima, but the goal was chalked off by VAR after a shove by Nico Raskin on Celtic goalkeeper Joe Hart was deemed a foul. However, McCoist argues that Raskin himself was fouled in the build-up by Greg Taylor, and the referee should have awarded a penalty instead.
“Scandalous honestly, but I have come to expect it,” McCoist said on talkSPORT. “The incompetence of our officials is nothing short of ridiculous. It is bordering on embarrassing to tell you the truth.”
McCoist questioned the decision-making process involved in reviewing the incident. “They disallowed the goal for a shove. Ok, there may be a little shove and I can understand that, but they go back two seconds and they’ve got to give a penalty,” he stated. “The guy [Taylor] has his arms wrapped around the guy [Raskin] who eventually does the little shove. It is just total incompetence Jeff, but we’ve come to accept it and that is the way it goes.”
In addition to criticizing the officiating, McCoist also cast doubt on Brendan Rodgers’ future at Celtic. With managerial vacancies at both Brighton and Chelsea, speculation has swirled about a potential return for Rodgers to England.
“There is an element of me that thinks Brendan will want to move on again,” McCoist said. “He’s had a very successful season winning a league and cup double, of course, and his CV is back up there. But we’ve seen the struggles of Scottish teams in the Champions League recently, and I just think Celtic would face the same again next year.”
McCoist acknowledged lingering discontent among some Celtic fans regarding Rodgers’ previous departure from the club. “There is still an element of some of the Celtic support who will not be happy with him,” he said. “For me, it would not be a shock at all if Brendan moved on and moved back south.”