'There is a mistake' - Philippe Clement questions VAR decision not to award Rangers a penalty in Celtic loss

Rangers boss Philippe Clement has questioned why his side weren't awarded a penalty during the 2-1 Old Firm loss to Celtic - admitting that "a mistake was made" by the match officials.

The Belgian boss was left disgruntled about the VAR flashpoint towards the end of the first-half, with Celtic leading 1-0 at the time. Hoops defender Alistair Johnston seemed to use his hand to make contact with the ball as he challenged Abdallah Sima but referee Nick Walsh waved play on and wasn't asked by Willie Collum to review the incident on the pitch side monitor.

Broadcasters were later informed that Gers forward Sima had strayed into an offside position before Johnston’s clumsy intervention but Clement was not fully convinced by the explanation.

While acknowledging the progress his players have made since his arrival in mid-October, Clement felt the result came down to fine margins. He questioned post-match: "My biggest frustration is that when there’s a clear hand ball, why isn’t a penalty given? Because that’s a clear thing. I’m curious about that.

"The decision about the penalty needs to be more clear because that’s a clear handball. First, there was no communication towards me. Second, if that was the communication, I’m not a referee but I think there’s a clear (physical) signal for VAR and offside that everyone knows what happened.

"There was no communication about that, in that moment. I don’t believe that. Otherwise, the signal of the referee is not correct. There is a mistake. It’s clear for everybody. It is what it is, and I also make mistakes, but it’s an expensive one today."