McGINN fury at var calls
MOTHERWELL’S Paul McGinn feels VAR is killing the game and players can’t get their heads around seemingly ever-changing handball rules.
The Steelmen were on the wrong end of a review in Saturday’s 1-0 defeat to Aberdeen when Lennon Miller equalised, only for the goal to be ruled out for the ball brushing Theo Bair’s arm in the build-up.
A similar situation occurred in a 3-3 draw with Ross County in October, when Victor Loturi handled the ball in the build-up to an eamonn Brophy goal but it stood as Loturi wasn’t the eventual goalscorer.
Boss Stuart Kettlewell also questioned Graeme Shinnie’s handball in the box in the final seconds going unpunished by VAR.
And baffled McGinn said: “I don’t think anyone knows what is going on with the rules anymore.
“We’ve had conversations where we hear that if Theo doesn’t score the goal, then it stands.
“But Loturi punched the ball for Ross County and then they scored. We were told then that because he doesn’t score the goal in the end, it counts. But in this game it is a different rule.
“Nobody knows what is going on, so it is quite frustrating. The game is getting killed a wee bit, but it is what it is.”
He added: “I am too far away from the penalty shout.
“If that’s what we are clutching to, then we really are clutching and I wouldn’t moan about that.
“But the other one seems like they don’t really understand it.”
Aberdeen hadn’t won in 11 Premiership outings going into Saturday’s clash but McGinn insists dumping the managerless Dons was never going to be straightforward with a gulf in budgets.
Caretaker boss Peter Leven saw Leighton Clarkson’s 25th-minute strike prove enough to take all three points.
McGinn said: “The expectation, based on their form, was that they’d come here and we would just run them over.
“But they’ve spent a fortune. There’s players at Aberdeen who will be on four times what we are on.”