Scottish FA refereeing chief Willie Collum has conceded that Rangers were fortunate to escape a major officiating blunder during their narrow Scottish Premiership victory over St Mirren. Speaking on the latest edition of the monthly VAR Review Show, the former match official revealed that the governing body concluded a penalty kick and a yellow card should have been awarded against the Ibrox side following an unpenalised incident in the first half of the September contest.

​The contentious moment took place on September 9 at Ibrox while the score remained locked at 0-0. Rangers defender Emmanuel Fernandez appeared to step directly on the foot of St Mirren winger Ismeal Kabia inside the penalty area. Despite vehement appeals from the visiting players and bench, referee Don Robertson allowed play to continue. The video assistant referee, Steven McLean, reviewed the footage briefly before deciding not to intervene or summon the on-field official to the pitchside monitor. Capitalising on the let-off, Rangers ultimately secured all three points in the dying minutes when substitute striker Bojan Miovski struck a dramatic winner.

​Addressing the sequence directly, Collum pulled no punches in assessing the decision-making of both Robertson and McLean. He argued that the review process was far too rushed, stressing that the defensive action warranted a much deeper examination. According to the refereeing chief, Fernandez committed an indisputable foul by coming down heavily on the attacker’s foot. Because the challenge carried significant force, Collum categorised the defender’s stepping motion as reckless, which in accordance with the laws of the game demanded both a spot-kick and a formal caution.

​Collum further disclosed that the incident was brought before top-flight managers almost immediately. During a scheduled meeting with Scottish Premiership bosses the morning after the fixture, the footage was screened and debated. According to Collum, there was unanimous agreement among the coaches that St Mirren had been denied an obvious penalty. The admission underscores growing scrutiny over the consistency of video review protocols across Scottish football, particularly when key phases of play escape rigorous checks.

​At the same time, the officiating chief sought to clarify the threshold applied to penalty box challenges. While acknowledging that modern football frequently produces light, incidental contact as attackers manoeuvre around defenders, Collum drew a sharp line between routine physical clashes and forceful stomps. He highlighted that this particular collision crossed the threshold due to its severity and excessive weight. Looking forward, Collum stated that the governing body is focused on two key priorities: ensuring the video review team takes adequate time to scrutinise defensive tackles, and pushing on-field referees to identify and punish these dangerous stepping actions in real time.