David Martindale stunned by Rangers VAR call as 'foul' goes unpunished for Abdallah Sima opener

Livingston manager David Martindale admitted he felt sure Rangers’ first goal would not be allowed to stand as his team were beaten 4-0 in the Viaplay Cup quarter-final at Ibrox.

Rangers forward Abdallah Sima leaves Livingston's Jamie Brandon grounded after challenging him for the ball before scoring the opener. (Photo by Alan Harvey / SNS Group)

But he did not attempt to present the 10th minute Abdallah Sima opener as pivotal on an evening he admitted his side were second best after being “spooked” by the early concession. Days after losing 3-0 to a 10-man Celtic on home soil, and on the back of a 4-0 defeat at Ibrox in the league this season – a trend that will lead him to some soul-searching he conceded.

Martindale had no doubts Sima pushed Jamie Brandon in the build-up to his goal, and that the correct decision would be arrived at between referee Willie Collum and Nick Walsh manning the VAR. But he considered it pointless to raise the issue afterwards.

“I thought it was a foul. I thought Willie was going to let the game play on, which he did. Then I felt he was going to blow the whistle,” said the Livingston manager. “But when it went to VAR I thought we’d be okay but obviously not. I’m disappointed because I did think it was a foul. I won’t speak to the officials. They’ve made their decision and I can’t change that.

“We never got it and I thought we were spooked. We struggled to get to grips with their shape. Ryan Jack was playing further forward than we thought he would be and Ridvan Yilmaz got on the ball. We managed to get to grips with that but the first goal spooked us. In the second part of the first half we limited them to very few chances. I thought we started the second half very well and then gave a cheap goal. We then lost after two goals which was disappointing.

“That’s 11 goals against the Old Firm that we’ve shipped and that’s not good enough. I need to look at myself too. I thought the scoreline on Saturday against Celtic was harsh but not tonight.”