Seething St Mirren blast VAR as referee chiefs admit penalty review SHOULD have happened against Ross County

Brassed-off St Mirren chiefs took a swipe at VAR and revealed the SFA referee department agree the video assistants missed a potential handball penalty in Tuesday night’s draw at Ross County.

The Paisley club took their protests to Hampden in the wake of the controversy after Staggies defender Ryan Leak was seen to clearly handle a cross into the box in the first half. Referee Chris Graham failed to spot the infringement but to the Buddies horror a VAR review also failed to point the whistler to an on-field review. It later emerged the video assistants had only checked for a shirt pull in the incident and not handball.

St Mirren took their case to Hampden and a statement read: “St Mirren can confirm it has spoken to the Scottish Football Association’s Referee Department regarding the decision not to check for a penalty after a handball in Tuesday night’s draw with Ross County.

“The club believes VAR made an error by not recommending an On-Field Review following a handball by a Ross County defender in the first-half. Having been allowed to review the full VAR audio and footage it is clear there has been a mistake in the process.

“There was a quick VAR review that centred around a shirt pull on James Bolton in the box. We also believe this could have been a penalty but understand that is subjective. However, the handball was a factual event, and the Referee Department has agreed that this should have led to an on-field review.

“While we welcome continued independent reviews aimed at making the process as robust as possible, and appreciate the openness and transparency from the referee department in reviewing this incident, we remain frustrated and disappointed that the correct process wasn’t followed on this occasion.”