NafisaThe Scottish FA’s KMI panel has delivered its assessment on three major moments during last weekend’s 1-1 derby stalemate between Rangers and Celtic.
And they have unanimously supported the final rulings made by Nick Walsh and the VAR officials on duty at Ibrox on Sunday.
Nicolas Raskin believed he had given Gers an early advantage with what would’ve been a second consecutive headed strike in this clash but saw it ruled out for offside, appearing to have timed his run marginally early from James Tavernier’s set-piece cross.
It was so close it eluded the assistant referee, but the footage available to VAR confirmed the Belgian was narrowly off. And KMI’s five-person panel all concurred with the decision.
Cyriel Dessers would later hand the hosts a valuable lead going into the break with his 25th goal of the campaign, but it was quickly nullified by Adam Idah.
The forward’s attempt was diverted past Liam Kelly by John Souttar but it was Daizen Maeda’s role in the buildup that brought about some confusion. The linesman on this occasion believed he had gone too early, but replays confirmed he was level and the goal was awarded following the review.
Lastly, there was a shout for a Gers spot-kick when Callum McGregor tackled Ianis Hagi in the area, resulting in the injury that has sidelined the Rangers player for the remainder of the season.
However, the protests weren’t particularly strong and no infringement was seen by referee Nick Walsh or his VAR support.
And the decision among the KMI panel was again clear-cut, with all five members agreeing it was the correct outcome. The call was also given the lowest difficulty rating of one.
All three rulings favoured Celtic but it appears there is little grounds for dispute over any of them.
Nafisa
