Livingston’s manager, David Martindale, bemoaned his team’s performance in the first half of Rangers’ 2-0 victory and acknowledged that VAR had contributed to his feelings.
Midway through the second half, referee Steven McLean was called to the VAR monitor twice to review an offside call that resulted in a goal and a penalty call. The official back at Clydesdale House also reviewed two other incidents, including another goal that was disallowed and Rangers’ first penalty call, which James Tavenier missed. It caused a jumbled game, with 15 minutes of stoppage time in each of the two halves, and the Livi manager thinks it hampered play.
Martindale remarked, “I think VAR played a big part in it. It was a disappointing first half.” “To be honest, it felt a little unpredictable, chaotic, and stop-start at moments. However, I didn’t think we played as well as Rangers did in the first half. A few VAR decisions—the first penalty involving little Ross McCausland, which I don’t believe was a penalty.
“I’m a little disappointed that there was a penalty handed, even though I understand that these choices are subjective when they are made by technology. I will state that the second one was a penalty for stonewalling. However, we were able to tie the game at halftime with a 1-0 lead.
“And when playing against the Old Firm, you have to attempt to stay in the game at zero or one zero, which gives you a chance to win. That was the first part of the story. Although we were in the game at that moment, we were fortunate to enter at 1-0. After speaking with the players, I thought we got off to a slightly more aggressive start in the second half.
bit more intensity and we got a couple of entries into the Rangers box.
“The game wasn’t really interesting until the second goal. The game becomes extremely challenging for us after the second goal, which is a penalty, is scored. The players then enter a sort of safety mode as the game gets simpler for the Rangers, allowing Rangers to easily gain possession of the ball by dropping 15, 20, or more yards.
Martindale said that problems with the match stream entering the Livingston technical room were making him even more irritated: “We experienced an issue with the feed entering the dugout, making it even more difficult for us,” he clarified. “If we could go back and watch it, we could get a rough idea of what VAR ought to be Acting However, the screen we were viewing was blank. We believed that the objective was forbidden, but you’re not informed. The first half was a little hectic, and VAR didn’t help our feelings. However, we managed to witness the penalty at halftime, and I didn’t think it was a pen. Perhaps having the feed instead of waiting three or four minutes for the decision has more to do with that.
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