Ex-SFA ref reacts to what Willie Collum said about 'Monumental Error' in Rangers v Celtic

Des Roache has lauded Willie Collum after the way he’s addressed the mistake VAR made in the Scottish League Cup final between Rangers and Celtic when the Gers weren’t awarded a penalty.

Vaclav Cerny was initially brought down on the edge of the box by Liam Scales but, as contact continued inside the penalty area, Philippe Clement’s men should have been awarded a much-deserved penalty.

At the time, the score was level at 3-3 and if the Gers had been given the penalty, they could have left Hampden Park victorious rather than feeling hard done by.

Speaking on the Daily Record’s Hotline Live (19 December), former SFA referee Roache shared his thoughts on the way Collum has handled the aftermath of the mistake that was made.

“As soon as we saw the stills without seeing the footage, in my opinion at the moment in time, discussing with my colleagues and yourselves, it was a penalty kick,” he said.

“It doesn’t matter how you get there and I think by listening to the audio that was released today, it makes it even more damning.

“I think Willie Collum has handled it absolutely fantastically, the way he’s spoke, he didn’t duck any questions, he spoke very clearly and concisely about what the expectations were and he talked you through the audio.

“The dialogue that was going on between VAR, the assistant VAR, the match referee, at the end of the day, these guys have made a monumental error in a massively big and important cup final.”

Rangers were hard done by against Celtic in the final

Even though Rangers didn’t leave Hampden Park with another trophy to add to their cabinet, it feels like there wasn’t much more that Philippe Clement’s men could have done to get a result.

They went 3-2 down and almost instantly levelled the score after Danilo slotted the Gers’ third into the back of the net.

Not only does this show that they never gave up but it also outlines that they knew how much this game meant to the club and their fans.

In the last month or so there’s been a massive improvement in form from the Gers and if they can keep this level of performance up, it’s hard to see why they wouldn’t be out for vengeance in their next Old Firm derby on 2 January.

Of course, the way Rangers were defeated in the final will remain sore for some time but if they can find the motivation to come back from their loss stronger, it could be exactly what they needed to prosper and mount a late title charge.

In other Rangers news, a problem in St Etienne’s pursuit of Cyriel Dessers has emerged.

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