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“Rangers were FURIOUS at the decision to award Motherwell’s opening goal but it was allowed because….”- SFA explain why Motherwell goal vs Rangers wasn’t disallowed
Rangers were outraged by the decision to allow Motherwell’s opening goal in their Scottish Premiership match at Fir Park on Sunday. The goal came after the ball seemingly struck Apostolos Stamatelopoulos’ arm in the build-up, before the Australian striker powered his shot past Jack Butland. However, the VAR team confirmed the decision to referee Kevin Clancy, allowing the goal to stand.
According to the Scottish FA, as quoted by the BBC, the decision was correct as Stamatelopoulos’ arms were in a natural position against his body. Under IFAB rules, a goal can only be ruled out if a player scores directly following contact with their arm.
It appears the VAR officials determined that enough time had passed for the play to continue, meaning the incident was not considered immediate. Had the incident occurred inside the penalty area, the goal would likely have been disallowed without question.
