Chris Sutton has strongly responded to Graeme Souness’ accusations of trying to influence VAR chief Nick Walsh at Ibrox, emphasizing that the VAR team should have relied on the Sky Sports broadcast to catch Fabio Silva’s dive for the contentious Rangers penalty call. Souness, a revered figure at Ibrox, criticized Sutton, a former Celtic player turned pundit, for his harsh criticism of the Rangers player involved in the penalty incident during Sunday’s thrilling 3-3 draw.

During the match, Referee John Beaton initially penalized Silva for simulation after colliding with Alistair Johnston, but after VAR intervention, the decision was overturned, allowing Rangers to equalize from the spot. Sutton, working as a Sky pundit, expressed his discontent with the decision, leading Souness to accuse him of bias. Refuting these claims, Sutton maintained that he was solely calling the incident as he saw it, without any ulterior motives.

Addressing Souness’s remarks, Sutton stated, “I hold Graeme in high regard across his roles in the game, but his allegations of me trying to sway VAR are baseless. Perhaps if Walsh had referred to the live TV coverage, they might have reached a different conclusion instead of rewarding deceit.”

Furthermore, Sutton criticized Silva’s behavior, labeling it as embarrassing and questioning the VAR’s intervention, stressing that there was no clear error from the match official initially. He stood firm in his belief that the incident did not warrant a penalty, highlighting Silva’s manipulation of the situation through simulation.

In concluding his response to Souness’s accusations, Sutton reiterated the importance of fair play and the need to eliminate diving from football, emphasizing the role of officials in upholding the integrity of the game.

Sutton believes that the TV replays shown to referee Beaton by the VAR officials did not present the complete picture. He argued that the clip aired by Sky, which was also seen by the referee, omitted crucial details such as the ball being knocked away by Johnston’s foot. Sutton found this misleading and lacking the full context of the incident. Despite various angles, he remains unconvinced that it was a penalty kick.

In response to Souness questioning if VAR listens to commentary and accusing him of bias towards Rangers, Sutton defended his position on the incident involving Silva, maintaining his view that Silva was attempting to deceive.