Chris Sutton has criticised Ross McCausland for a 'clear dive' to win Rangers a penalty against Livingston.
The 20-year-old went down under the attention of Livingston goalkeeper Shamal George during the first half of the game at the Tony Macaroni this afternoon.
It appeared to be a soft award, but referee Steven McLean pointed to the spot. Replayed showed that the attacker seemed to be going to ground before any slight contact from George.
VAR looked at the incident but the onfield decision remained.
🗣️ "It's a clear dive... He should be cautioned!" Chris Sutton believes Rangers' penalty shouldn't have been given. Your thoughts? 👇 pic.twitter.com/D77k6MJBtZ
— Sky Sports Scotland (@ScotlandSky) November 12, 2023
Uncharacteristically, skipper James Tavernier missed the spot kick, as the score remained 0-0 at the time.
Celtic hero Sutton could not believe that VAR didn't overrule McLean's decision to award Rangers a penalty.
"This... it's a clear dive," he said on Sky Sports at half time. "I do not understand how the VAR official hasn't spoken to the referee.
"Watch this angle, he's already on his way down. McCausland, who had a good first half, but that's a dive. He should be cautioned and it should never have been a penalty.
"It was probably justice for Livingston's perspective (Tavernier miss)."
Fellow pundit James McFadden agreed on the situation.
He added: "Yeah, it's a dive. I don't know why, when it's checked, they don't overturn the decision.
"Tavernier misses the penalty, he's normally so good from the spot. It's probably a bit of justice."
Kris Boyd said: "He goes down far too easily."
Meanwhile, Philippe Clement has made his feelings on plastic pitches clear.
"It's not the look, I knew what it was, I'd seen it," he said. "It's just another ball game. Different. We need to adapt.
"You look at the big leagues, the top leagues, there's not one artificial pitch. There's a reason for that.
"For the quality of football, for the quality also for spectators to watch good football games, it needs to be on grass pitches.
"It is what it is and we will adapt. It's not an excuse for any result."
