Rangers VAR call blasted in 'rotten' red card tirade by Bill Leckie

Rangers got lucky against Kilmarnock in their Scottish Premiership thanks to a “rank-rotten” VAR decision to send off defender Joe Wright, according to Bill Leckie.

The Scottish Sun journalist blasted the controversial call against Wright, saying that it gave Rangers the upper hand in a previously close game and proved that VAR officials don’t appreciate the game itself.

Wright handled the ball during a tussle for control with Gers defender Dujon Sterling, and although VAR intervened to recommend a straight red card for the defender, Kilmarnock did get a brief reprieve after Will Dennis saved James Tavernier’s resultant penalty.

In his Scottish Sun column, Leckie fumed: “Was it a penalty? Course it was. Not even our rank-rotten VAR squad could miss something that obvious.

“To send the boy off too, though? For something he had absolutely no control over?”

He continued the tirade, saying; “if ever a decision proved how little the people who make the rules know about the game itself, this was it.

“That’s not deliberate. That’s not actively denying a goalscoring opportunity.”

Rangers were already 1-0 down against Kilmarnock by the time Wright received his marching orders, thanks to a bizarre own goal from right-back Tavernier.

The Gers skipper had the chance to make amends from the penalty spot, but his attempt from 12 yards was well-saved by Dennis to give 10-man Kilmarnock a huge boost of confidence.

Rangers captain James Tavernier couldn’t capitalise after Joe Wright’s sending off for Kilmarnock.

However, the visitors couldn’t hold out forever and their resistance finally buckled on the stroke of half-time; Rangers putting their 11-player advantage to good use and freeing up Fabio Silva to slot home the equaliser.

Killie continued their quest to see out a point at Ibrox, but the second half proved to be too much for them. Rangers scored three more times through Ben Davies, Tom Lawrence and John Souttar, recording a comfortable 4-1 victory following a second period that was much more routine than the first.

The Gers therefore continue their push to hunt down Celtic at the top of the table, but the question will remain – had Kilmarnock not lost Wright so early on in the contest, could they have kept Philippe Clement’s side at bay?

In other Rangers news, Billy Dodds shares his verdict on James Tavernier’s “incredible” moment after BBC Sportscene footage.

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