Killie No.2 Stevie Frail vented in the wake of the chastening defeat at Rugby Park has left them languishing
Diomande was spared by VAR
Furious Kilmarnock reckon they were wronged over two VAR calls which went against them in the 3-0 defeat to Rangers.
Stevie Frail vented in the wake of the chastening defeat at Rugby Park has left them languishing at the wrong end of the table with their ire around the call not awarding a penalty for David Watson after he was held by Mohamed Diomande as both entered the box.
And Frail, speaking with Stuart Kettlewell absent after he was sent to the stand, reckons Jack Butland should have been sent off for his crunching tackle on Bruce Anderson.
Sky commentator Neil McCann stated: “[Mohamed] Diomande is lazy, he grabs him, I think this might be given.”
And The Ref’s View, run by former referees Steve Conroy and Des Roache, reckon the Ivory Coast international was spared because VAR deemed the offence stopped before it entered the box.
Posting on X, they wrote: “Can only assume that was deemed to be outside the box, looked a clear foul by Diomande.”
That was not a view shared by Sky’s leading panel who couldn’t make the case for a penalty against Diomande for his pull on Watson with the ball unlikely to reach the Scotland U21 star.
But Butland was deemed fortunate in the eyes of Chris Sutton, speaking to Sky, he said: “Jack Butland is so, so lucky. Bruce Anderson gets to the ball first then it comes off Butland. They are both going for the ball, Bruce Anderson nicks the ball onto Butland and then gets away with it. Really, really lucky.”
It wasn’t a penalty in the eyes of messrs Kris Boyd and James McFadden. The trio all reckoned Mikey Moore’s second should have stood and believe VAR were looking at the wrong foul in the build-up.
The clash at Rugby Park wasn’t without controversy with Kettlewell sent off after a X-rated tirade aimed at the assistant referee and Kevin Clancy in the wake of the no-call on Diomande’s tug on David Watson.
And he was called out by his own, as former Livingston boss Gary Holt clamped the Killie boss. Speaking on BBC, Holt said: “Stuart is frustrated I get it, but you’re the leader. The players need to see a calm head on the touchline. It’s not a good look.”
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