Rangers have confirmed that Ibrox Stadium will experience the controversial Video Assistant Referee (VAR) in the knockout rounds of the Europa League.
Speaking on the club’s official Twitter account ahead of today’s Europa League draw, Rangers confirmed the use of the referee in the next round of matches.
That means that Rangers fans will get to see what all the fuss is about when whoever comes out of the hat comes to Ibrox at the end of February.
VAR has been courting an immense amount of controversy in the English Premier League where its use has come under increasing scrutiny.
Incredibly close offside calls have seen goals chalked off whilst there has been a lack of consistency over yellow and red cards, penalty shouts and various other refereeing incidents.
There has also been an issue with fans being left in the lurch as referees take their time to make decisions, birthing an argument that VAR is taking away some of the in-the-moment emotion of football.
Generally, VAR is viewed as the way forward in the game but clearly clubs and Associations are still working out its functionality whilst it remains in its infancy.
The argument for VAR is clear; Rangers would’ve probably won last week’s League Cup Final had the system been in use at Hampden.
That led to Rangers boss Steven Gerrard calling on the Scottish footballing authorities to consider VAR in the future.
But this will be Rangers fans’ first taste of the controversial system and give supporters the chance to make their own mind up on the experience surrounding it.
Let’s just hope there’s not so much controversy when it rolls out at Ibrox.
