Almost immediately after Rangers’ two penalty kicks against St Johnstone, you could hear the conspirators behind VAR clattering on their keyboards.
Remember that both were very obvious penalty kicks—one for a late lunge on Dujon Sterling and the other for the most obvious handball you’ve ever seen—but in the crazy world of Scottish Premiership football, reason isn’t permitted. Although the usual suspects complain and whine about how the rules should be applied, there is more reason for concern at Ibrox given that neither of the two penalty kicks was awarded until VAR stepped in.
Since then, Craig Levein has expressed regret over the VAR’s decision to award the spot kicks with mildly obnoxious soundbites that have not been and will not be taken seriously.
However, the fact remains that Rangers would have suffered from a double refereeing injustice at St Johnstone if technology hadn’t intervened. In the event, Rangers won the match 3-0 and took the lead in the Scottish Premiership.
Referees avoiding the possibility of a Rangers penalty?
Referees are under more pressure than ever before when it comes to major Rangers decisions.
The vitriol around penalty kicks has escalated to the point where every Rangers spot kick decision—regardless of where it occurs on the field—is examined through forensic analysis. Not just by the conspiracy theorists on Twitter, either; Sky Sports has a tendency to exaggerate every Rangers call when covering the team.
Despite all reasonable arguments to the contrary, such as the fact that Celtic has actually been given the most penalty kicks this season (12) or that they are the only team in the division without having had a spot kick awarded against them, this culture has grown up around the game and continues to this day.
However, the idea that referees are now so reluctant to enforce rules correctly in real time because of VAR’s safety net raises concerns that officials are becoming paralysed by conspiracy theories about the Rangers.
Whistler’s reputation is saved by VAR against St Johnstone
To be clear, Rangers and Celtic will receive more penalties than any other team since they possess the ball more in the box than the other teams. It makes sense simply. The idea that there is a conspiracy is demeaning to our under-pressure referees’ professionalism as well as the intelligence of football fans and anyone who genuinely thinks it shouldn’t be taken seriously.
It is a very concerning indication that referee Matthew MacDermid had to be summoned to the monitor twice in order to correctly administer the rules. VAR is meant to support referees in their decision-making, not make choices for them.
The post-match inquest is sufficient to compel the man in the booth to act each time there is an error, which makes the situation astounding proof that VAR is beneficial for Scottish football.
However, if we’re going to discuss the calibre of the country’s officials, then the Rangers’ hesitancy to call the penalty clearly indicates how confident or how scared they are of making the right call.
