Scotland and Aston Villa star John McGinn has issued a brilliant response to Scottish refereeing after Aberdeen beat Motherwell in the Scottish Cup. McGinn, who is currently out injured, was watching his brother in action at Pittodrie as managerless Dons navigated the tie to win 2-0 against nine men ‘Well.
Taking to Instagram, McGinn blasted the VAR’s involvement in a questionable red card for Liam Gordon.
Scottish var is a mess
— John McGinn (@jmcginn7) February 18, 2026
I’ve sent you to the screen let’s send you to an angle from the North Sea to back it up
— John McGinn (@jmcginn7) February 18, 2026
A third red card of the game! 😱
Motherwell are reduced to nine men as Liam Gordon is sent off after a VAR review 🟥
“I’m less convinced about that one than I am the first one…” 🎙️#ScottishCup pic.twitter.com/Q7ES8J1YHt
— Premier Sports (@PremSportsTV) February 18, 2026
There are parallels to the red card that Celtic received at Tynecastle recently whereby Auston Trusty was sent off for a foul with Liam Scales seemingly covering. Similarly, it appears that Gordon’s teammates were covering him.
In both instances, the referees on field were on hand and had a clear view of the offence. Both issued red cards but were directed to attend at the monitor to be shown angles that slightly distort the reality, the player had a lot of ground to cover before getting a shot away.