Alious
Rangers have been left counting the cost of another controversial VAR decision after Bojan Miovski saw an early goal ruled out during their 2–1 defeat to Hearts at Tynecastle — a call that has now been heavily questioned.
The North Macedonia international thought he had handed Rangers the lead when he turned in Emmanuel Fernandez’s header at the back post, with referee Nick Walsh initially allowing the goal as the away side celebrated. However, VAR officials, led by Grant Irvine, intervened and chalked off the strike for a marginal offside after drawing the lines.
That moment proved pivotal. Instead of going ahead, Rangers were rocked, and Hearts seized control of the contest. Goals from Lawrence Shankland and Stuart Findlay ended Danny Röhl’s unbeaten Premiership run and helped the league leaders open up a commanding 12-point gap at the top. Youssef Chermiti’s late effort offered Rangers little more than consolation as Hearts claimed their fourth win of the season over the Light Blues and Celtic.
Former Hibernian striker Tam McManus believes Rangers were unlucky and questioned whether the decision even warranted VAR involvement. Speaking on PLZ, McManus insisted the call was far from clear-cut.
“I thought Rangers started the game brighter in terms of possession, and the big moment is obviously the goal that’s ruled out,” he said. “It’s incredibly tight. I don’t think that’s a clear offside at all.”
McManus added that, from the angle shown, Miovski appeared to be onside, suggesting Rangers were unfortunate to be denied the opener.
“For me, when I saw his foot coming out, I thought he was onside,” he continued. “If that’s the only angle VAR had, then I don’t think you can definitively say he’s offside. You’d expect they have more angles than that.”
While acknowledging Hearts’ dominance after the decision, McManus stressed how significant the moment was in shaping the match.
“That’s a huge turning point. If that goal stands, it could be a completely different game,” he said. “Hearts did take over after that and probably could have won it comfortably, but Rangers were hard done by with that call.”
The debate around VAR is now set to rage on, with Rangers once again finding themselves on the wrong end of a decision that may have altered the course of the match — and potentially the title race.
Alious
