The League Cup final result is still making headlines, mainly the squabble over penalties. A recent stumbling in Rangers to Celtic at Hampden has elicited furor of astound and many people have been wondering why VAR was not instrumental in the event.
The VAR has however come under serious scrutiny but new findings indicate the following. During the match, Rory Hamilton of Premier Sports said that the video referee did get involved and was happy with the outcome of the decision made.
Hamilton’s commentary clears up any confusion, stating: But we’ll just give an indication of how close that was to contact in the box from Liam Scales. Sorry to interrupt. VAR did have a look at it and I guess he was fine with it being a free kick.
This revelation is in contrast to what other ex SFA referees such as Bobby Madden insisted that Celtic deserved the penalty. Madden admitted his shock that the VAR team did not consider it as a pen, when referee simulation happened on the pitch.
Belgian Rangers managers Philippe Clement said it was ‘weird’ that a penalty wasn’t awarded and Celtic’s Liam Scales said he needed to review the incident to determine if it was a penalty or not.
Such has been the debate generated by this case that many people are demanding that VAR decisions should be more transparent and less centralized. However, by the intervention of the Premier Sports commentary, it cannot be doubted that VAR did scrutinize the event, therefore, the right decision was reached.
After the final whistle blows in the League Cup final, one thing is certain; the penalty issue will not go away. At the same time, though, things have changed and new evidence has been discovered, it’s rather time to end the discussion and move on.