NafisaSt Mirren were left wondering what might have been after suffering a cruel late defeat to Rangers at Ibrox, but former Gers midfielder Andy Halliday believes the biggest talking point from the game should have been a penalty that never came.
The Buddies spent much of the first half simply trying to survive as Rangers piled on the pressure, with the home side dominating possession and territory without finding the breakthrough.
Yet the pattern changed after the interval.
St Mirren grew into the contest, began creating opportunities of their own and looked increasingly capable of leaving Ibrox with something to show for their efforts.
Then, just when it appeared the visitors might hold on for a valuable point, Bojan Miovski struck in the 91st minute to snatch victory for Rangers.
But Halliday believes St Mirren had already been denied an opportunity to take the lead before the decisive moment — and he has pointed the finger firmly at VAR.
Halliday blasts VAR decision:
The incident came when Ismael Kabia appeared to be brought down inside the Rangers penalty area by Emmanuel Fernandez.
There were not many appeals from the St Mirren players at the time, which Halliday believes makes it understandable that referee Don Robertson failed to award a penalty during the live action.
However, the former Rangers player believes that excuse no longer applies once the incident reaches the VAR officials.
Steven McLean was in charge of VAR on the night, and Halliday feels he should have intervened and sent Robertson to the pitchside monitor.
Speaking on Sportscene, Halliday was adamant that the replay evidence left little doubt about what happened.
“Undoubtedly, for me. Dujon Sterling drops his runner and Kabia gets in the blind side of him. I think you can forgive a referee for not seeing this live, because there wasn’t much of an appeal when it came to the St Mirren players.
“But when you see the replays, there is no doubt in my mind that it’s not Kabia who initiates contact here, it’s Fernandez. You can see that little buckle of the ankle to suggest where the contact comes. I forgive referees for not getting that in live scenarios but VAR has got to pick those scenarios up. For me, I think St Mirren should have had a penalty kick in that instance.”
Halliday’s argument is particularly damning because he is not simply criticising Robertson for missing the incident in real time.
Instead, he believes the referee can be excused for failing to spot a difficult challenge during a fast-moving passage of play.
His frustration is directed at the technology and the VAR process.
From his perspective, once the replay showed Fernandez making the decisive contact, McLean should have recognised that the on-field decision required a second look.
That makes the incident even more significant given how the match eventually unfolded.
Had St Mirren been awarded a penalty and converted it, they could have taken the lead during a period when they were beginning to cause Rangers problems.
Instead, the game remained goalless before Miovski’s late intervention settled the contest.
The Rangers substitute was played through by Ryan Naderi before calmly lifting the ball over St Mirren goalkeeper Jacob Chapman in the 91st minute.
It was a brutal ending for the visitors, particularly after they had weathered everything Rangers threw at them during the opening 45 minutes before growing stronger as the game progressed.
For Halliday, however, the issue is not simply that St Mirren lost to a goal in the final minute.
He believes they may have been denied the chance to take control of the game earlier.
The former Ibrox star’s comments are also likely to fuel another debate around the consistency of VAR decisions in Scottish football, particularly when an incident that is difficult to spot at full speed appears much clearer on replay.
There will inevitably be arguments over whether the contact was sufficient to warrant a penalty, but Halliday’s position is unequivocal.
In his view, Fernandez initiated the contact and Kabia did not manufacture the incident.
That is why he believes VAR should have intervened.
St Mirren will ultimately have to accept that they left Ibrox empty-handed, despite making Rangers work extremely hard for the three points.
For Rangers, the late victory extended their excellent run of results and provided another important three points.
But the result may not be the only thing discussed from the night.
With Halliday insisting that St Mirren should have been awarded a penalty, the spotlight has instead turned towards the VAR booth — and specifically why McLean did not believe the incident was serious enough to send Robertson to the monitor.
In a match decided by a single goal deep into stoppage time, that missed intervention could leave St Mirren asking a particularly painful question: what if VAR had simply done its job?
Nafisa
