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Daily Record
Daily Record
Sport
Mark Pirie

Kris Boyd in VAR callback as Celtic 'etch a sketch' offside in focus after major Motherwell vs Rangers debate

Miffed Kris Boyd turned sour on VAR following Rangers win over Motherwell - as he rolled back the clock to point out a previous Fir Park technology issue.

The video technology dominated the talking points coming out of Michael Beale's sides win in Lanarkshire after Fashion Sakala appeared to be in offside position when he received the ball, before he crossed the ball into the box in the build-up to Todd Cantwell's goal that put Rangers into a 3-2 lead. Referee Nick Walsh was not sent to the monitor by VAR Andrew Dallas with the lines that were applied to the pitch in Lanarkshire showing the Zambian was onside.

However, following the full-time whistle Motherwell boss Stuart Kettlewell admitted there was "confusion" over how the lines were drawn and applied at Fir Park. The decision bares an eery similarity to Jota's goal that was ruled out at the same ground earlier this season.

The Celtic winger latched onto a long ball from Kyogo before chipping the ball over Liam Kelly. but the assistant referee flagged for offside and the strike was chalked off. The linesman was backed up by the VAR room, but it was later revealed by the SFA that the wrong angles had been shown after one of the cameras missed the flashpoint.

Following the onside call, Boyd launched an impassioned plea on Sky Sports confessing the Portuguese star's goal should have stood: "You look at the Jota goal for Celtic here a couple of months ago, it's clearly onside. I'm looking at it from a general view, but you are look at it and say Rangers would have probably won the game today.

"But they have games where teams get relegated, they might end up in the playoffs. They might end up in disaster if they go down. We need to make sure it's done to the best of our ability. When it came in we were told there is going to be some teething problems, and we still have got problems.

It's not the first time that Boyd has called out the use of the techology at the home of the Steelmen. Writing for The Sun at the time, Boyd said: "Ange Postecoglou was very diplomatic after Celtic’s win at Motherwell in midweek.

"That might not have been the case had they not claimed another three points — and with good justification. What were the VAR lines all about for Jota’s goal, which was ruled out for offside? It was like something a three-year-old had drawn on their Etch-a-Sketch.

"Offside should be a black and white issue, yet we somehow manage to find grey areas. The SFA have since released a statement saying the camera in the Motherwell half failed to capture the incident."

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