Rangers fullback James Tavernier escaped punishment at Ibrox for a challenge similar to the one that saw Celtic’s Austin Trusty be shown red.
Celtic supporters are fuming after the referee made a controversial decision at Ibrox last night, bailing Rangers out of a potential red card.
The incident, which was highlighted by supporters on X, shows James Tavernier pulling down Kilmarnock’s Tyreece John-Jules. The player calls for the referee to take action, but play continues as David Dickinson jogs up the other end for a Gers attack.
It has shades of the incident at Tynecastle, which saw Austin Trusty shown a red card after a VAR intervention. The decision was brought to an appeal board, but they ruled that the referee and VAR were justified in their decision, despite the Celtic defender not appearing to make contact.
At the very least, Tavernier’s foul was deserving of a yellow card, but the referee decided to let play continue. VAR did not get involved on this occasion.
Double standards in the Premiership
There are calls for VAR accountability, with people highlighting that this shows clear double standards. These fouls were indeed similar, and if Trusty’s was a red, confirmed by an appeal board, then Tavernier should have also been given his marching orders for this challenge.
Kilmarnock manager Neil McCann was fuming at the decision, especially as his player was sent off just minutes into the clash. He said:
“Going down to 10 men so early in the match, I thought we were absolutely brilliant against a team here like Rangers. I don’t think Dom sees Gassama coming. I think Gassama initiates the contact. He slows down, bumps him and then goes down. I can understand why David produced the red card. But what I’m really angry about is that I think Tavernier should be sent off. There is no reason for Ty to go down. It’s a clear push from behind and Ty was in with the ball over the top. I’m hearing there’s not much contact. It’s virtually identical contact to what Dom was penalised for. I can’t, for the life of me, understand why it’s not a red card.”
When Tavernier committed this foul, he was already on a yellow card. This challenge at least deserved a yellow card if we’re going by the laws of the game.
Every justification offered by Willie Collum in the aftermath of the Trusty red card also applies to the Tavernier incident, which has fans questioning why the outcome was so different. They are using the same VAR system as each other, but one referee decided not to penalise the other Glasgow side.
There needs to be some standard of refereeing in the Scottish Premiership. It has long been discussed online how awful some match officials are in this country, especially as they do not have to declare their allegiances as they do across the border.
The criticism is often brushed off, with no positive discussions taking place on a way forward. VAR has been one of the most disastrous introductions to football in Scotland, but we could be stuck with it for life, and there is absolutely nothing we can do about it.
The conclusion most are coming to? If human error is going to be responsible for such calamitous errors in the Scottish Premiership, then what’s the point in having an advanced VAR system? It’s hard to disagree.