Overview
- Referee Steven McLean initially showed Trusty a yellow for bringing down Pierre Landry Kabore before VAR official John Beaton advised an on-field review that led to a straight red for denying an obvious goalscoring opportunity.
- Hearts equalised late through Claudio Braga against 10 men, leaving the leaders six points clear of Celtic, with Rangers up to second and four points off top.
- Martin O’Neill argued the ball was moving away from goal and that a covering defender was close enough, saying the decision heavily affected the closing stages.
- Former officials and pundits offered conflicting views, with Dermot Gallagher, Keith Hackett and Mark Clattenburg questioning the upgrade while Craig Levein, Kris Boyd and Michael Stewart backed the red.
- Debate has focused on IFAB’s DOGSO criteria and whether VAR should intervene on subjective judgments rather than only correct clear and obvious errors.