Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Daily Record
Daily Record
Sport
Andrew Newport

Gio van Bronckhorst ramps Rangers VAR demand up a notch as raging boss questions 3 offside calls and 'unbelievable' decision

Raging Rangers boss Giovanni van Bronckhorst has stepped up his call for VAR - insisting TV technology would have seen his side tune into victory against Motherwell.

Gers blew a huge chance to turn the heat up on title rivals Celtic after a second-half collapse allowed Motherwell to snatch a 2-2 at Ibrox.

The champions were on top and comfortable at the break thanks to Bevis Mugabi’s OG and a Fashion Sakala strike.

But Jordan Roberts and Kaiyne Woolery completed a remarkable turnaround for Graham Alexander's team.

Van Bronckhorst, however, was left furious after referee Don Robertson and his assistants failed to spot an offside against Liam Shaw in the build-up to Woolery’s goal.

Giovanni van Bronckhorst (SNS Group)

And the Dutchman - who also saw Alfredo Morelos have two goals chalked off for offside - again lamented Scottish football’s failure to cough up for VAR.

He said: “We created 30 chances. I know it has been hard weeks but we were playing well and creating chances. We got three minutes extra time, which for me was unbelievable.

“Again it is the refs that decide it. I think with the build up to the second goal, the player (Shaw) was offside and we scored two goals which were even closer with Morelos.

“You couldn’t see it with your eye and they got that really sharp eye in those moments.

“But when one player is one yard offside they didn’t see it. That is why you need VAR, for these moments to help referees. With VAR, we would have won this game.”

Rangers have now won just three of their last eight league games and missed the chance to slash Celtic’s advantage at the top to a single point with 10 games to play.

But Van Bronckhorst hit back at suggestions the team which dumped Borussia Dortmund out of the Europa League has gone soft.

Referee Don Robertson shows Alfredo Morelos a yellow card (SNS Group)

“The mentality is good,” he said. “I didn’t hear any complaints on Thursday about the mentality and it is the same players.

“It is only a couple of days later. I think the mentality is good. Sometimes these situations happen.

“We have to be more ruthless defensively, that is for sure, and we have to be more clinical in front of goal.

“If you have 30 chances, not all shots on goal, we had a lot of chances to score more goals. If you look back at the run after the break, getting four draws isn’t good enough and it has to be better, especially with the standards we want to have with this club.

“Of course we can do things better but I think the mentality of the players is what is needed to be successful. But obviously we cannot continue to dominate games and just get one point.”

Fingers have also been pointed at Gers No.1 Allan McGregor after the veteran allowed Woolery’s strike to sneak past him at the neat post.

But Van Bronckhorst leapt to his keeper’s defence, saying: “If we get a goal against us, it is not only Allan McGregor. It is very easy to say it is the fault of the goalkeeper.

“In the build-up, we didn’t do tactically well, we passed to players we never pass to when we are building up in this way.

“It starts with the build-up. I think we defend as a team. As I said before, I think Allan is a good goalkeeper, a very experienced one. It is very easy to put the blame on him because we conceded two goals.”

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.