Rangers 'happy' with point as Giovanni van Bronckhorst makes VAR claim over Aberdeen penalty

Giovanni van Bronckhorst believes VAR would have altered the outcome of Rangers’ 1-1 draw against Aberdeen at Pittodrie but declared himself satisfied with a point from the dramatic contest.

Rangers manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst walks back to the dressing room at the end of his team's 1-1 draw against Aberdeen at Pittodrie. (Photo by Craig Williamson / SNS Group)

Aberdeen were denied a first half penalty when Ryan Hedges went down under a challenge from Rangers goalkeeper Allan McGregor shortly before Ianis Hagi gave the Scottish champions the lead.

The Dons did get a penalty in the second half for handball against Alfredo Morelos which was converted by Lewis Ferguson despite the ball moving off the spot in windy conditions as he took it.

Rangers ended the night with 10 men after winger Ryan Kent was sent off for two bookable offences in quick succession.

“Of course, if you don’t have VAR, the decision that is made by the referee is the decision that counts,” said van Bronckhorst.

“If you have VAR and you get every angle, like with the long ball with Allan in the first half, maybe it is different. I don’t know.

“We saw with the penalty the wind. It is windy here, we saw the ball moving and maybe with VAR it has to be taken over again. That is the way it is. We have to accept the decisions by the referee and move on.

“It was a physical game with a lot of tackles, a lot of duels. You know there are going to be yellow cards on both sides. I don’t know (about Kent’s red card). It is a decision by the ref.

“He got booked a little bit before, so there is every chance when you make a foul the fans were going to scream. It is normal in a place like this.”

It is the first time Rangers have failed to win in the Premiership since van Bronckhorst took charge and their lead in the title race over Celtic is now four points.

"We could have been better on the ball, especially when we were 1-0 up,” he added. “If we had the control we normally have, I think we could have created a few more chances in the second half.

“Aberdeen played physical but were also good on the ball. So in the end, especially with 10 men, we’re happy with the 1-1 because a point is a point.”

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