'Game's gone mad': Derek McInnes rails against VAR after Kilmarnock red card in defeat to Hibs at Easter Road

Derek McInnes laid into VAR’s intervention at Easter Road which ultimately led to the second-half dismissal of Kilmarnock striker Kyle Vassell in the 2-0 loss to Hibs.

The visitors were already two goals down thanks to a Will Fish header and debut Hibs goal from January signing Matthew Hoppe when the incident occurred.

Vassell was initially booked by referee John Beaton for a high boot on Marijan Cabraja, which caught the Croatian in the face. VAR then asked Beaton to have a second look at the incident with the match official deciding to upgrade the challenge to a straight red.

McInnes, who says his side will appeal the decision, questioned why Beaton’s initial call wasn’t enough with the whistler standing just yards away.

Kyle Vassell is shown a red card by referee John Beaton during Kilmarnock's 2-0 defeat at Easter Road. Picture: SNS

“We were all here. There's no sense that it was a bad challenge. You can sniff a red card, there's a sense that something's happened which makes you feel a bit uneasy,” he said.

“John [Beaton] deals with it at the time. He's standing right next to it. We move on. I didn't even think it was a yellow. Kyle's tried to pull out. I think the Hibs player's went forward into him. Kyle's got his eyes on the ball the whole time. He tries to keep his foot still, there's no forward movement.

“They're in a sanitised room over 50 miles away watching that over and over again, telling the referee you need to have a look at that, that's a red card.

“The game's gone mad. That's not a red card. I'm sick to death of this VAR. It was our turn this week, there will likely be someone else in Scotland today who has suffered as well.

“An experienced referee dealt with the incident. Yet it goes all the way to them and they put pressure on him to look at it differently. It's no a red card.

“You can sense the anger and frustration from everybody from a Kilmarnock point of view. But I think there was real surprise and shock from a Hibs perspective. There was no running around from players going to the referee looking for a red card. You know a red card offence. You can sniff it at the game. It's absolutely ridiculous.”

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