Nicolas Raskin reckons Scottish football chiefs need to start investing properly if they want the Premiership to be taken seriously as a top-level competition.
The Belgian midfielder felt he was robbed of a goal in Rangers’ 2-2 final-day draw at Hibs when, with the Ibrox side 1-0 up, he poked the ball past keeper Jordan Smith and looked to have ushered it over the line before defender Rocky Bushiri cleared.
SFA insiders stated VAR Andrew Dallas had no conclusive proof the ball was in before the home side raced up to the other end of the pitch and equalised — and that led to Rangers chiefs and interim boss Barry Ferguson, in his final game in charge, demanding the introduction of goal-line technology.
Raskin agrees that it would be a positive for the national sport and believes there have been so many bad decisions over the course of the season that something has to happen.
Asked about the ‘goal that never was’, Raskin replied: ‘I just think we’ve put the VAR for those things, you know, and hearing on the pitch that there are no clear images that show the ball is in is a bit funny. When I see the images and when everybody sees the images, we all think that’s a goal. But this season, I’ve seen some crazy decisions.
‘If I think about the last Dundee game when they whistled a handball, it’s just... I don’t know how to explain that. If you can see it and I can see it, surely the VAR can see it.
‘So many players have become frustrated with decisions like this and not having the correct angle.
‘I think (better technology) could be a good thing for the league. If the league wants to improve, they need to improve every aspect of it and that’s one big aspect. You cannot have big claims every week about VAR decisions, you know?
‘If this can happen in every other league, why can the Scottish league not have it?
‘It is just not good enough when you want to get closer to the top 10 leagues, top five leagues.
‘You need to invest in your league and crazy VAR decisions have been quite... I don’t know the word, but it happens quite often.
‘It’s just not good for us on the pitch because we get frustrated, fans get frustrated and then it just brings some bad vibes to the game.’
Raskin has broken into the Belgian national side this season and is expected to attract interest in the summer, but he insists he is in no rush to secure a transfer elsewhere.
‘I’ve been enjoying myself this season and it’s not so often that you can enjoy yourself in a club, so I’m really happy here,’ he said. ‘I’ve got two more seasons on my contract, so, as long as the club wants me, I’ll be here and then we’ll see what happens.
‘Physically, I can get better. I can improve, so I can go forward and run back at the same intensity. Sometimes, if I go forward, I’m a bit tired to go back. But it’s the end of the season.’