NafisaRangers supporters are still talking about the incident that overshadowed Derek McInnes’ first Scottish Premiership match in charge.
The Light Blues looked the more likely side to find a late winner against Dundee United before one controversial moment changed the mood completely.
With only minutes remaining, Mohamed Diomande burst into the penalty area before going to ground under a challenge from Emmanuel Agyei.
Almost every Rangers player immediately appealed.
Derek McInnes threw his arms into the air on the touchline, while supporters inside Tannadice were convinced the referee had missed what looked like a decisive foul.
Instead, referee Nick Walsh pointed for a goal kick.
What surprised many fans even more was what happened next.
There was no lengthy VAR delay.
There was no invitation for Walsh to jog across to the pitch-side monitor.
Play simply continued, leaving Rangers supporters wondering why one of the biggest incidents of the match appeared to pass without a review.
The reason lies in how the VAR protocol operates.
Video Assistant Referee Steven McLean, assisted by Gary Hilland, automatically checked the incident behind the scenes. Every potential penalty is reviewed by VAR, but the referee is only sent to the monitor if the video officials believe there has been a clear and obvious error in the original decision.
In this case, that threshold was not met.
By allowing play to restart without recommending an on-field review, VAR effectively agreed with Nick Walsh’s original judgment that the challenge did not amount to a foul worthy of a penalty.
It is important to note that neither the Scottish FA nor the VAR officials have publicly released audio or a detailed explanation of the incident.
There has also been no official statement from Steven McLean explaining the decision beyond the fact that the on-field call was allowed to stand.
That did little to calm Rangers’ frustrations.
Sky Sports cameras captured Derek McInnes looking stunned immediately after the decision, and following the final whistle the Rangers manager marched onto the pitch to speak directly with Walsh before later holding further discussions with the match officials.
Although McInnes did not disclose exactly what was said, he made it clear his side believed they had been denied a golden opportunity to claim all three points.
The controversial incident has since become one of the biggest talking points from the opening weekend of the Scottish Premiership season.
Unless the Scottish FA decides to release the VAR audio or provide a detailed refereeing review, supporters may never receive a fuller explanation than the one already provided by the officials’ actions.
For now, the reason Rangers were not awarded a penalty is straightforward: VAR reviewed the challenge and did not believe Nick Walsh had made a clear and obvious error, meaning there were no grounds under the current protocol to send the referee to the monitor.
Nafisa
