“Misleading” – Chris Sutton Slams Glasgow Derby VAR

Chris Sutton has voiced strong concerns regarding the VAR footage shown to referee John Beaton during the fiery 3-3 draw between Celtic and Rangers at Ibrox.

The match saw Celtic leading 2-0 before it took a contentious turn when Beaton, initially awarding a yellow card to Rangers’ Fabio Silva for simulation, reversed his decision to a penalty after consulting VAR.

This pivotal moment is now under scrutiny for potentially missing crucial context in the footage reviewed. Celtic have raised this concern with the SFA.

Sutton  criticised the VAR team for not providing a complete view of the incident. According to him, the footage failed to show Alistair Johnston’s initial contact with the ball, which he argues would have clarified the nature of Silva’s subsequent fall. “The clip shown by Sky is the clip the referee is being shown. And that is where I see a problem as well, as that clip didn’t include the ball being knocked away by Johnston’s outstretched boot first of all,”

“It was totally misleading as it wasn’t the full incident. When you watch all of it, there is not a single angle that convinces me it was a penalty kick.”

Sutton has sided with Celtic on this one, and it’s hard to argue against it. But, it does raise massive questions as to why Nick Walsh in the VAR studio didn’t show John Beaton the full incident, and crucially, the contact Johnston made on the ball.