'More honest' - Philippe Clement gives VAR verdict after Rangers penalty at Aberdeen rescues unbeaten record

What the Rangers manager said after the 1-1 draw with Aberdeen at Pittodrie

Rangers manager Philippe Clement speaks to the fourth official at full-time after the 1-1 draw with Aberdeen at Pittodrie. (Photo by Craig Williamson / SNS Group)

Don’t badmouth VAR in the presence of Philippe Clememt. The Rangers manager has stressed that he always supported the use of such technology in football and it's easy to see why at Pittodrie as his side earned a last-gasp point against Aberdeen.

Clement's unbeaten record at Ibrox was preserved by an injury-time penalty awarded when replays showed Aberdeen defender Stefan Gartenmann grabbing Connor Goldson’s shirt in the box.

The Rangers manager was adamant. "I think for everybody it’s really clear that it’s a penalty," he said. "Connor’s shirt is really pulled."

James Tavernier did what he usually does and stroked the ball home under immense pressure to earn a last-gasp point for his side.

Although Rangers have not gained any ground on Celtic, they have not, crucially, fallen any further behind. The gap remains at eight points, with the Ibrox side having played a game fewer.

A major reason for Rangers still being within sight of the leaders are late penalties against Aberdeen at Pittodrie and against Hearts last month, when VAR again stepped in after referee John Beaton had missed a Peter Haring tug on Goldson. Rangers also grabbed a late winner through Danilo to compound Hearts’ frustration.

They might have grabbed all three points against Aberdeen too but substitute Sam Lammers hit a header too straight at Kelle Roos. A point was deemed acceptable by Clement.

“I was asked this question a few weeks ago, about my opinion of VAR, and I’m a fan,” said Clement. “Because it makes the game more honest.

“Of course, there are still some mistakes and some decisions that stay in a grey area. That’s also why you guys have a lot of work, because there are a lot of opinions after games and I think you guys like that also.

“People respond and are fans for one team or another. But in the end, if you are objective, you can only say VAR makes the game more honest than in my days. So I’m a fan of that. Clearly, it’s a penalty. If you pull a shirt like that, you see the shirt comes like this. It’s a penalty. You cannot use your hands in that way.”

He felt Rangers deserved to take all three points after the shock of falling behind to Bojan Miovski's 11th minute opener. The visitors hit the bar twice in the second half.

"If you have the expected goals we had today, we should have scored more goals,” he said. “It’s a big expected goal tally for an away game against a tough opponent, a good opponent.

"All credit to Aberdeen," he added. "For sure when you go behind against them, they defend with numbers, with a lot of passion, in small spaces. So it’s not easy to create all these chances.”