After Rangers punished Celtic in the final match of 2019, one pundit gives his verdict on the outcome of the match and what it could mean.
Celtic lost in a heartbreaker to Rangers on December 29th in a Scottish Premiership League match, but the real conflict came during the Scottish League Cup final in early December. While the Hoops won that match, Christopher Jullien‘s goal has been called into question.
Christopher Jullien’s goal during the December 8th Scottish League Cup final matchup has been heavily contested as many have thought his goal to be offsides. Now, Rangers and its fans are wanting to implement VAR into Scottish football.
The English Premier League League has been using VAR all season, and to much criticism. It is the same as American football implementing replay on nearly every down, which has had its ups and downs.
Now, Kenny Dalglish has had his say about VAR in regards to VAR in his column in the Sunday Post:
"“Many discussion points have been put out there, but the one I’d like to focus on is Rangers’ call for the introduction of VAR…“In this day and age, if we can reduce the chances of goals being given that should have been disallowed – in this case Celtic’s for a handball by Odsonne Edouard that was missed – then we can’t ignore it.“Also, if players are being wrongly red-carded, it makes sense to review the incident immediately to reach the right outcome.“VAR has been on the go in the English Premier League since the start of the season.“It’s fair to say it’s had its teething problems, and has caused controversy."
Sir Kenny Dalglish is not wrong on any of his accords. Celtic AND Rangers have benefited from there not being any VAR in Scottish football up to this point. However, as Dalglish points out, the SFA cannot simply implement VAR during this season due to costs and manpower.
Rangers want VAR due to two separate instances that involve Celtic, which is fair. However, it won’t come this season. That being said, fans should not be surprised that come the 2020/21 season when VAR becomes a way of life in the Scottish Premiership League.