Not for the first time, an Aberdeen v Rangers encounter ended in chaos and controversy last weekend, as the visitors were awarded a stoppage time penalty, and the Dons were left fuming.
I have on occasion this season been somewhat perplexed by Barry Robson’s post-match comments, but last Sunday I could understand his frustration when he said: “It doesn’t look good” for the game that Rangers benefitted from “another” late VAR call.
Taken in isolation, it was the correct decision. Stefan Gartenmann clearly pulled back Connor Goldson and the award was justified.
The argument, of course, is that similar offences are perpetrated at every corner, and go unnoticed and unpunished.
On this occasion, and with time very much running out for Rangers, the VAR official, Andrew Dallas, chose to get involved.
He also decided not to intervene soon after when Goldson flattened Dante Polvara with a flailing arm. That was a clear red card.
It was, however, the penalty which sparked most debate, and the award, the Ibrox side’s tenth of the season, caused more uproar and much angst among football fans generally.
Having gone back through my own stats for the past few seasons, the issue is not the number of spot-kicks Rangers are awarded.
Since the start of the 2021/22 campaign, they have been given 26 in the Premiership while Celtic have had 23.
You would expect the Glasgow sides to get more penalties, given how they dominate most games, and the pair have similar results. For comparison’s sake, the Dons have been awarded 18.
It is the decisions at the other end of the pitch which produce incomprehensible statistics.
In that same period, Aberdeen have conceded 23 and Celtic ten. Only three penalties have been awarded to teams playing Rangers. Jordan White scored for Ross County in August 2021 and Dundee’s Jason Cummings had his effort saved the following month.
When Lewis Ferguson stepped up to net from the spot on January 18 2022 for Aberdeen, that was the last time Rangers faced a top-flight penalty.
They have now played a staggering 68 matches without conceding one in the Premiership.
In that time, it would appear not a single Rangers player has committed a foul in their own 18-yard-box.
Not once has a referee deemed a challenge illegal; not once, since its introduction in October 2022, has a VAR official highlighted anything of note while the Ibrox side has been defending its area.
It would hardly be a stretch to suggest there is bias there. I am not suggesting it is intentional bias, that the referees are deliberately ignoring incidents, but for whatever reason, it clearly exists.
How else, unless those Rangers defenders are somehow infinitely more disciplined than all their opponents, can that remarkable statistic be explained?
Incidentally, since the start of last season, Rangers have conceded seven penalties; one in the Scottish Cup, two in the Viaplay Cup and four in Europe.
They have played 19 European ties during that time, so the concession of four spot-kicks seems pretty much what you might expect, one every four or five games, and it certainly puts into sharp focus that statistic of zero conceded in 68 league matches.
