Former referee issues verdict on Rangers vs Kilmarnock 'handball' incident as UEFA guidance cited in argument

Rangers’ second goal against Kilmarnock in their 3-1 Premiership victory rightfully stood, according to former referee Bobby Madden.

After the Light Blues took the lead at Ibrox through Ryan Naderi, his striker partner Kevin Kelsy quickly doubled their advantage. In the 24th minute, the Venezuelan originally tried to chest the ball to his teammate and lost his footing - but after a deflection back into his path off a Killie defender, he quickly got up and navigated the ball onto his left foot before finding the target. Naderi then sealed the win with his second of the afternoon before Killie winger Nicky Clescenco grabbed a consolation goal.

Killie boss Neil McCann claimed after the match that VAR should’ve ruled the goal out as he thinks the ball struck the hand of Kelsy as it ricocheted back to him. The ex Ibrox winger said: “We gifted Rangers three goals today - but I’ve got a real problem with the second one. I think it’s a handball.”

Madden disagrees with McCann’s gripe and explained why VAR couldn’t intervene. Speaking on his So Near, Yet So VAR podcast, he said: “I waited to see the images, and I have gone through them in super slow-motion. “You will see the ball come in, and Kelsy takes the contact on his chest.

“The next contact comes off the foot of the Kilmarnock defender, and the spin on the ball forces the ball to drop directly in front of Kelsy and his arms are out. For me, I don’t believe that it does strike the arm, and even if it does there is no clear footage to show that it does. So, there is no way VAR can intervene.”

Matthew MacDermid was the on-field referee at Ibrox on Saturday, while Grant Irvine was on VAR duty. Madden claims in awarding the goal, the pair were adhering to UEFA guidelines, which were set out at the start of the season. He continued: “UEFA met with the 57 member associations this year and said they really wanted to raise that bar. Only interfere when it’s a blatant error. I think there has been a lot of that. They should be applauded for that”

The changes to the handball rule in the lead up to a goal have already caused confusion in the Scottish game. Kilmarnock were lucky not to concede against Hearts on September 19 when Laurent Mendy’s strike cannoned off a defender into the back of the net. The goal was disallowed despite his shot initially looking off target, which, under the new laws, would mean it should’ve stood as it wasn’t him who directly scored from his own handball.

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