Ref Watch: Pull on Aberdeen’s Nicky Devlin warranted penalty in Scottish Cup v Raith Rovers

Aberdeen successfully navigated a potential upset against Championship Raith Rovers in their quest to retain the Scottish Cup – but a 1-0 victory was not short on refereeing controversy.

The man in the middle was Kevin Clancy, being supported on VAR by Greg Aitken.

Flashpoint number one was the only goal of the game – scored by the Dons’ Jack Milne.

A corner into the box was flicked high towards the back post by Dante Polvara, and Milne was there to bundle the ball into the net and past the goalkeeper.

The goal was certainly scrappy, and it was hard to tell initially which part of Milne’s body the ball had hit.

A VAR check followed for potential handball.

When you see the footage, it was clear the ball had hit the upper part of his torso – his shoulder or chest.

Milne’s arms were not high enough for the ball to hit off them and into the net.

It was a fairly long VAR check, but the goal stood.

Gyamfi saved from red card by distance to goal

Next, there were big shouts from the away section for a red card after Aberdeen’s Emmanuel Gyamfi halted a Raith counter attack.

There is an argument Gyamfi was the last man – but the challenge took place well inside the Rovers half.

If it had been halfway line or slightly inside the Aberdeen half, then yes, I could support a red card being awarded.

Ref Clancy did take his time before producing the yellow card, obviously debating the decision himself.

But a booking was correct.

One of the most important things you consider for a DOGSO (denial of a goalscoring opportunity) is distance to the goal.

Even if Gyamfi doesn’t take him down, with the distance, you couldn’t be certain the Raith player would get a shot away.

It was good decision by the referee during a big moment in the game.

Devlin should have had spot-kick

In the second half, hosts Aberdeen thought they should have had a penalty when Nicky Devlin was held back when attempting to get on to the end of a ball into the visitors’ box.

This was the most contentious decision of the game, for me.

Devlin was clearly being held by the arm as he attempted to move forward and before he hit the deck.

Was there enough contact for a penalty? Personally, I think there was.

But was it a clear and obvious error to the point it warranted a VAR intervention?

Well, if you flip it, and the referee had given a penalty, I don’t think VAR wouldn’t have got involved in that scenario either.

[Source: Press and Journal]