Ally McCoist has slammed the decision to award Union Saint Gilloise a penalty against Rangers, insisting the call was as bad as his former club’s display.
The Light Blues’ Champions League group stage hopes are under serious threat after a 2-0 third qualifying round first leg defeat in Belgium. Goals from Teuma and Dante Vanzeir in each half have given the hosts something to hold on to at Ibrox next week, leaving Gio van Bronckhorst’s men with a mountain to climb in their bid to progress and face Monaco or PSV.
While McCoist accepts that Rangers were miles off the pace and deserved to leave with nothing, it was the decision to award a penalty for the potentially decisive second goal that sticks in his craw just as much as the pitiful performance, The ball ricocheted off new signing Ben Davies and struck Connor Goldson’s hand in the box from point blank range.
A VAR check was initiated, and despite many being sure referee Irfan Peljto would see sense, the ref pointed to the spot even after seeing the incident again on the monitor. Vanzeir converted, leaving the Gers with all sorts of work to do at Ibrox to turn the tie around.
And McCoist, who described the call as “mental,” believes those in the VAR studio need to have an understanding of the game to ensure such decisions are correct, even with the help of video technology. He told TalkSport: “It was an absolutely terrible decision; as bad as Rangers’ performance. I have to balance it and say Rangers were really poor and didn’t deserve to take anything out of the game,
“But that’s what really annoys me about VAR. Are these people for real? You’re looking at it and who in their right mind thinks that’s a penalty? It’s important that you have people who are making these decisions that have played the game to a certain level and understand it. It baffled me. Absolutely baffled me.
“I don’t want to take anything away from the result and performance, which was poor and I don’t have a problem with the actual result. But that decision? Come on. You’re sitting looking at it on a monitor. If he’d seen it in normal time and given it, I’d have given him a bit more space and leeway. But when you go over to a monitor and look at, and still give it? It’s mental.”
Rangers haven’t featured in the group stage of Europe’s Premier competition since 2010. Their absence could well increase to 13 years after last night’s result, and McCoist has warned that they have no right to even be thinking about facing either Monaco or PSV in the next round ahead of the second leg.
He added: “We went down to the bottom of the Scottish leagues and have onl y plate European football in the last two or three years. But you;ve got to say on last night’s performance, there’s a heck of a lot of work to be done before they can start thinking about Monaco or Eindhoven, that’s for sure.”
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