Ally McCoist didn’t hold back as he unleashed a scalding criticism on the refereeing standards in Scotland, particularly targeting Nick Walsh for his controversial decision during the intense Scottish Cup final clash between Celtic and Rangers.

Expressing his outrage over the officiating at Hampden, the Ibrox legend condemned what he described as “absurd incompetence” displayed by the match officials. McCoist’s fiery diatribe on the subpar refereeing quality unfolded in the aftermath of Rangers’ defeat to Celtic in the Scottish Cup final.

During a dialogue with a Celtic-supporting listener on a radio show, McCoist was set off by the mere mention of the match, prompting a vehement response. Hosted by Jeff Stelling, the exchange led McCoist to vent his frustration, indicating his discontent with the performances of both Nick Walsh and John Beaton, the VAR referee.

McCoist vehemently criticized the decision to disallow Abdallah Sima’s goal, initially awarded by Walsh but later overturned following a pitchside review suggesting a push on Celtic’s goalkeeper, Joe Hart, by Nicolas Raskin. While acknowledging the technical call to annul the goal due to the push, McCoist firmly believed that a penalty should have been granted for Greg Taylor’s earlier foul on Raskin.

In a direct and unfiltered statement on talkSPORT, McCoist expressed, “We may have been unlucky, but his point stands. Jeff, it’s scandalous. Absolutely scandalous—honestly, I’m not even surprised anymore. The ineptitude of our referees is beyond belief; it’s close to being embarrassing, to be honest.

“They cancel out the goal for a slight shove—I get that. But rewind a couple of seconds, they really ought to be awarding a penalty there. The defender had his arms wrapped around the player who eventually made that slight push. It’s just sheer incompetence, Jeff. Unfortunately, we’ve grown accustomed to it; that’s the reality of the situation.”