Ally McCoist in surprise Scotland penalty verdict and rues a 'total disaster' he was hell bent on avoiding

Gutted Ally McCoist has admitted he didn't think Scotland should have been awarded a penalty on first viewing but was left convinced Stuart Armstrong was decked after seeing the replay.

The national team hero – the last man to score a winning goal in a major tournament game – was in agreement with referee Facundo Tello initially, however, he is upset VAR weren't called in to overrule his initial decision after the Southampton man collided with Willi Orban. McCoist – who admits he would have rolled the dice by hanging on for a draw in the final EURO 2024 group game – reckons it was the wrong call for the man from Argentina not to be called to the monitor.

Speaking on talkSPORT, McCoist said: "It's amazing, I am going to be brutally honest with you. When I first saw it, I actually didn't think it was a penalty. Then I watch it again and he definitely hits his calf. I think Orban catches Armstrong's calf with his knee. I can understand, perhaps, the referee not thinking it was a penalty right at the start like I did. It must go to VAR like I did.

"It's funny because the first person I met when doing a post-mortem after the game was Pat Nevin. I was talking away to Pat and he still didn't think it was a penalty. We have all got different opinions. I don't think there is any doubt, when I look at it, why VAR has not had a look at it is baffling.

"But that's one incident. In the grand scheme of things we haven't performed to any level like we could and should have. We're talking about a penalty which should have been given, yes. Would it have altered the way the game went? Without doubt. But in the bigger picture we weren't good enough."

And McCoist reckons there was no reason to concede in the dying seconds – believing there