A former top-flight referee has lambasted the Scottish Football Association (SFA) for their deafening silence regarding Rangers’ contentious penalty claim in Sunday’s League Cup final defeat to Celtic.
Mike McCurry, a seasoned referee with over a decade of experience, has weighed in on the controversy, stating that Rangers were “100% ” denied a legitimate penalty when Liam Scales pulled Vaclav Cerny’s shirt inside the 18-yard box.
McCurry, who officiated Rangers’ 5-1 League Cup final victory over Motherwell in 2005, is demanding answers from the SFA regarding the VAR officials’ failure to intervene. He believes that the governing body owes fans an explanation for the glaring error.
“The SFA needs to come out and clarify what happened,” McCurry urged. “Did VAR scrutinize the decision, or did they just take a cursory glance and stick with the on-field decision? The fans deserve to know what went wrong.”
McCurry absolved referee John Beaton of any blame, acknowledging that the official’s angle made it impossible for him to spot the infringement. However, he emphasized that VAR’s failure to intervene was inexcusable, particularly in a high-stakes cup final.
“In this day and age, with the technology available, VAR needs to be involved in decisions like this,” McCurry stressed. “If I’m John Beaton, I’d want to know that VAR has taken a good, hard look at the incident to ensure the correct decision is made.”
As the controversy continues to simmer, McCurry’s comments have added fuel to the fire, with Rangers fans demanding answers from the SFA. The governing body’s silence has only served to heighten tensions, and McCurry’s intervention has ensured that the debate will continue to rage on.