Gerrard cool on VAR but insists: ‘officials up here need some help’
Rangers manager Steven Gerrard lamented the failure of match officials to disallow Celtic’s winning goal in the League Cup final but admitted he remains unsure whether VAR should be introduced to Scottish football.
Christopher Jullien was one of three Celtic players in an offside position, along with Kristoffer Ajer and Odsonne Edouard, when he slotted home from a Ryan Christie free-kick.
Television pictures clearly showed the goal should not have stood but assistant referee David Roome did not spot the offence.
It compounded an agonising afternoon for Gerrard whose team dominated for long periods but could not find a way past Celtic goalkeeper Fraser Forster, even when the Scottish champions were reduced to ten men for the last half hour when Jeremie Frimpong was sent off for conceding a penalty which Alfredo Morelos saw saved by Forster.
Gerrard has not been wholly impressed by the impact of VAR in the English Premier League this season but does feel standards of officiating in
Scotland need to be enhanced. “I think VAR has taken something away from the game, so I’d be a liar if I said I’m 100 per cent in favour of it,” said Gerrard.
“But one thing I do know is that the officials up here do need some support and help. Because there are too many things, not just for our club but across the board, that they maybe miss and need a bit of support on.
“Yes [the linesman should have seen it]. Look, I’m not going to sit here and make
excuses. I’m not the type of person who blames or looks for excuses.
“The big moments have gone against us today, we are all responsible for that. But the reality is, at the top end of football, you expect the linesman to get one of them right from the three who were in an offside position.
“I thought we were outstanding in terms of our performance. Everything we asked of the players today, in terms of how we approach it and what we wanted from them, to a man I can’t be much prouder of them.
“But finals are normally decided on big moments and the big moments haven’t gone in our favour today.
“We conceded from a set piece which we shouldn’t have given away, there was no panic. Once you concede it, you have to defend it better.
“There were three Celtic players standing in offside positions but unfortunately we play in a country where there is no VAR.
“We still have to defend it better but, that aside, we were outstanding. We created all the best chances. I don’t know what the other stats were but they are not important. I can’t ask any more of my players in terms of what they gave me today.”
Gerrard faces a major challenge to lift his crestfallen squad ahead of Thursday night’s decisive Europa League group stage match against Swiss champions Young Boys at Ibrox.
“I’ve got a big job to pick them all up because, as you can imagine, this is a tough one to take. It’s a raw one right now but this is football at the top. That’s why this is such a big job. We’ll suffer and then we’ll bounce back.”