Scottish referees chief Crawford Allan welcomed Rangers manager Philippe Clement’s “very helpful” backing of match officials after the VAR independent review panel claimed there had been a sharp increase in wrong decisions.

The IRP judged that 16 key match incidents (KMIs) have reached an incorrect outcome since the start of the season- with 13 of them coming in the second full round of cinch Premiership fixtures.

Rangers had made a request to the Scottish Football Association that Willie Collum be excluded from any involvement in any Gers match following a non-penalty incident in the Old Firm game at the end of last year.

Celtic full-back Alistair Johnston handled the ball inside his own penalty area at Parkhead under pressure from Gers attacker Abdallah Sima.

The IRP claimed indeed that Collum should have recommended an on-field review for a potential penalty but noted that the offside ruled that the decision not to award the spot-kick was ultimately correct.

Ahead of Collum taking charge of rangers’ cup tie with Ayr last weekend, Clement dismissed notions that any referee is “not neutral” and vowed to leave the past behind as he noted that he makes mistakes “every day probably”.

Allan, head of referee operations at the SFA, said of Clement’s support: “That was very helpful. That comment was very supportive and I know it was well received by the referees.

“I think that’s what we should be doing, we should be focusing in on the positive.

“I have seen other recent appointees to Scottish football, managers, saying that the initial experiences of Scottish referees are positive, so long may that continue.”

Allan was keen to stress that there was no chance that Collum would have been taken off Rangers duties.

He said: “Every referee will get considered for every match which is at their experience level. I will reiterate that, the Scottish FA will appoint referees to matches as they see fit.”

Among the 13 decisions that the IRP questioned  this time around were two penalties for Rangers  – one given for a challenge on Ross McCausland at Livingston and against Sima against Dundee at Ibrox – and the one awarded against Light Blues defender John Souttar against Kilmarnock.

It was also claimed that the yellow card initially handed out to Rangers midfielder Jose Cifuentes against Dundee in December should have been sufficient.

Cifuentes was initially booked by referee Kevin Clancy for a challenge on Amadou Bakayoko but that was upgraded to a red following a VAR review.

Asked if the rise in wrong calls from the perspective of the IRP was a concern, Allan said: “We see it as realism. Football is subjective. We accept the view of the independent review panel and we think they have a role to play in assisting us to ensure we are not seen to be marking our own homework.

“In terms of the numbers, we look at the reviews and types of incidents and we have got a heck of a lot more right.

“We have literally got hundreds correct and Scottish football has a habit of focusing in on the tip of the iceberg when we have a huge iceberg below which no-one really bothers about because we get it right.

“In the hundreds of potential reviews that we have had this year, we are in the same percentage areas as other countries.

“It is something we won’t lose sight of but we will continue to develop our referees and support them.”

The Scottish Football Association has hit back at Rangers as the row over a non-penalty incident at Celtic Park continues.

Celtic defender Alistair Johnston appeared to handle the ball inside the area in the first half of the cinch Premiership clash at Parkhead on December 30 while under pressure from Gers forward Abdallah Sima.

Referee Nick Walsh pointed for a goal kick and the decision was confirmed by VAR official Willie Collum following a check.

It later emerged through Sky Sports – broadcasting the match live – that there had been an offside in the build-up and Rangers claimed that was never mentioned during the VAR analysis.

The Ibrox club called on the SFA to release the audio of the incident and following a meeting with the governing body on Wednesday, Rangers said there was “an overriding consensus the VAR decision of no handball was incorrect”.

The Govan club also added they were “deeply concerned” by the speed of the decision and there were reports that the club had requested that Collum not be involved in Rangers games going forward.

However, in a lengthy statement the SFA said: “The Scottish FA is disappointed by contents of the most recent statement issued by Rangers.

“Chief executive James Bisgrove and director of football operations Creag Robertson attended a private briefing with the head of referee operations, Crawford Allan, to review the incident in question, including the use of matchday audio.

“We understood from the chief executive that the meeting had been constructive and informative, and conducted amicably. This does not appear to be reflected in the club’s statement.

“During the meeting, it was pointed out that the incident in question was a subjective handball and that the VAR did not deem it a sufficiently clear and obvious error to refer to on-field review.

“Furthermore, the offside would not have been mentioned at the time as it was not part of the VAR’s decision-making on the handball.

“It was highlighted within Clydesdale House that had the VAR considered the incident to be a handball offence and asked the referee to carry out an on-field review, the attacking phase of play would have been checked and an offside would have been identified.

“This supplementary information was relayed to broadcasters in-game, and we are reviewing the process of information dissemination to avoid any perceived ambiguity in future.

“There was an overall consensus that the incident could not have led to a penalty kick being awarded in any event, and that there was no impact on the final outcome of the match.”

The statement continued: “Since the summer, we have ensured that key match incidents [KMI] are reviewed and shared with all clubs after every full round of Premiership fixtures, including use of audio.

“We will continue to do this, along with KMI being shared with the independent review panel for their consideration and opinion.

“Finally, we note posts from a recent official media partner of the club’s detailing requests from the private meeting that were immediately rejected.

“We would ask that club representatives show greater responsibility in such matters, especially in the context of recent incidents in European football that have compromised the safety of match officials and led to widespread condemnation.”

The latter comments comes after former MKE Ankaragucu president Faruk Koca was recently given a permanent suspension for punching referee Halil Umut Meler after his side’s draw with Caykur Rizespor in the Turkish Super Lig.

Rangers have requested that the audio of the VAR penalty incident in the 2-1 defeat at Celtic be released by the Scottish Football Association.

Celtic full-back Alistair Johnston appeared to handle the ball inside his own box in the first half of the cinch Premiership encounter at Parkhead under pressure from Gers attacker Abdallah Sima.

A goal-kick was awarded by referee Nick Walsh and the check by VAR official Willie Collum for handball came to nothing but it later emerged through Sky Sports, who were broadcasting the match live, that there had been an offside in the build-up.

Gers boss Philippe Clement said afterwards: “There was no communication towards me. And if the communication is that Sima is offside, I’m not a referee – but there should have been a clear signal from VAR for offside.”

A Rangers spokesperson said: “Rangers have asked the Scottish FA to make the VAR audio available to the club to understand why no penalty was awarded despite a clear handball by Celtic’s Alistair Johnston.

“The club is keen to understand the process that led to that decision being made as it was not made public at the time, nor communicated to our team.

“We also understand Sky, as the league’s official broadcaster, is deeply unhappy and confused with the situation.

“Their panel spent half-time in agreement Rangers should have been awarded a penalty, unaware of any offside check. Again, this only surfaced in the second half.

“Rangers remains advocates of VAR, but there must be significantly more transparency for it to be successful in Scotland.”

The Viaplay Cup last-16 round concluded with drama at Rugby Park as Kilmarnock knocked out holders Celtic 1-0.

Here, the PA news agency looks at some of the main talking points from the ties played over the weekend.

Shock defeat for Celtic

Kilmarnock defied the odds to beat holders Celtic 1-0 in the last 16 as Marley Watkins’ second-half goal set up a quarter-final clash with Hearts at Rugby Park. For Hoops boss Brendan Rodgers, it was his first domestic cup defeat in Scotland in 25 games and came as a shock to those who have watched them dominate Scottish football.

Hearts display their depth

Some Hearts fans were wary of how their team would cope in a relatively low-key fixture at home to Partick so soon after the euphoria of their thrilling Europa Conference League win over Rosenborg. The Jambos made six changes to the XI that started on Thursday but still made light work of their Championship visitors, with two of their summer signings – Odel Offiah and Kyosuke Tagawa – grabbing their first goals for the club and another in Alex Lowry making a big impact. The Jambos look spoilt for choice in most departments, but particularly in attack.

Hibs show they can handle Sunday service

Hibernian were heavily criticised for poor displays in their opening two cinch Premiership matches, both of which came on Sundays after Thursday night Europa Conference League qualifiers. Given they were facing Raith Rovers in the Viaplay Cup on the back of another gruelling European tie away to Luzern, many – including their own supporters – felt Lee Johnson’s inconsistent side might struggle to rouse themselves for the visit of the Championship side. They were made to work for a 2-1 win, but the fact Hibs secured their place in the last eight on the back of progressing in Europe will do wonders for confidence levels ahead of this week’s play-off showdown with Aston Villa and their former hero, John McGinn.

Not as easy for much-changed Rangers

With one eye on Tuesday night’s Champions League play-off game against PSV Eindhoven at Ibrox, Michael Beale made eight changes for the visit of Championship side Morton on Saturday. It was not an easy afternoon for the Light Blues, who fell behind to a 52nd-minute penalty from Grant Gillespie following a VAR check. However, Cyriel Dessers levelled from the spot on the hour, also following VAR intervention, before substitute Danilo ensured a place in the quarter-final draw when he beat Morton goalkeeper Jamie MacDonald.

Maybe VAR is not that bad after all

Several managers have expressed frustration with how video technology has been utilised in Scotland, but Motherwell boss Stuart Kettlewell was left counting the cost of its absence during his side’s 1-0 defeat by St Mirren. Kettlewell felt his side were denied a stonewall penalty for handball by former Well striker Mikael Mandron and claimed another former Fir Park player, Charles Dunne, should have been sent off by Willie Collum for a foul that left Mika Biereth with a knee injury. Kettlewell said: “I’m not throwing Willie under the bus, he’s one of our top officials, and rightfully so, but I asked the question about the penalty at half-time and he says ‘we have no VAR’. But I was on the understanding that if we didn’t have VAR, then the referee referees the game, like we were told it was only going to be an aid to help referees get more correct decisions.”