Hibs icon brands VAR 'a mess' after Scottish Cup triple dismissal as controversial DOGSO ruling sparks debate
The Aston Villa star was watching on with great interest as Aberdeen faced Motherwell in the last 16.
Hibs icon John McGinn has blasted Scottish VAR after a crazy Scottish Cup tie at Pittodrie.
The Scotland International was cheering on his brother and fellow former Hibee, Paul, in Motherwell’s trip to the Granite City, in a match where they saw red twice. Aberdeen, who had a red themselves through an ill-timed tackle from Dennis Geiger, won the match 2-0, setting up a quarter final tie with Neil Lennon’s Dunfermline and ending the Steelmen’s unbeaten run in 2026 in the process.
The Lanarkshire side were given a mountain to climb after just three minutes, when Oscar Priestmen saw red after his unfortunate slip meant he clattered into Lyall Cameron, who was through on goal. The Geiger dismissal then meant it was ten against ten, before Liam Gordon took out Toyosi Olusanya after being dispossessed in. the centre circle. John Beaton originally gave the defender a yellow, but after being sent to the monitor by VAR Chris Graham, after much deliberation Gordon also was given his marching orders.
‘Scottish VAR is a mess’
As the denial of a goalscoring opportunity (DOGSO) ruling continues to spark debate in Scottish football, Jens Berthel Askou described their second red card as a ‘mystery’ due to the fact there were covering defenders, while John McGinn believes VAR north of the border is ‘a mess’.
The former Hibs man took to X to voice his frustrations with VAR, as well as the camera angles on offer to the referees. “Scottish var is a mess”, he posted, as well as, “I’ve sent you to the screen let’s send you to an angle from the North Sea to back it up.”
The subjective nature of the DOGSO rule has sparked controversy throughout Scottish Football this season, namely in Hearts and Celtic’s top of the table clash at Tynecastle last month, when Auston Trusty saw red for a tackle on Pierre Landry Kabore. Motherwell have already consulted Willie Collum about the incident and are awaiting a response.
Motherwell red ‘a mystery’ for Askou
The Motherwell boss accepted the decision for the unfortunate Priestman red, but was left baffled by their second dismissal on the night. He told Premier Sports: “I think the first red card, I’ll have to accept that. It’s what happens. The pitch out there was slippery. Things can happen as part of our game, we sometimes lose the ball in dangerous positions. I think it can go both ways, to be honest.
“But I think the second one is without a question never, ever, ever a red card. We have two players covering five yards deeper than where he hits the ball, with 50 yards to go, and he has to drive the ball up there. So, yeah, absolutely unexpected. I don’t get it from any angle how that can ever be a red card. That changes the game completely because we grew momentum.
“I think he (Beaton) made a good call in this situation. It was clear it was a yellow card, but looking at it live from all the angles I’ve seen, I’ve seen plenty, there’s nothing there that supports that he had to be called to the monitor. And obviously when a referee gets called to the monitor, there’s a certain amount of pressure and expectation that he has to double-check his decision. It’s a big mystery to me what happened.”