"Speaking about officials and the support we can give officials up here in Scotland, certainly VAR is the way forward"
Thursday 7 March 2019 11:30, UK
Steven Gerrard jokes it "would have been nice" if Manchester United lost to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League, but admits VAR made the right decision.
The Rangers manager and former Liverpool captain was asked for his opinion on Marcus Rashford's controversial stoppage-time penalty as United sealed a dramatic 3-1 victory over PSG on Wednesday to reach the quarter-finals.
Gerrard insists the right call was made by VAR but admits that he initially thought PSG defender Presnel Kimpembe was "very hard done by" in the handball ruling and thinks the final decision was "very harsh" on the French champions.
"The rules are the rules and we all have to expect that and respect it," Gerrard said on Thursday. "The rules are certainly not going to change during a season. It is what it is.
"Listening to some of the officials comment on it was very interesting because they say the penalty decision was correct and the referee was correct, but when I saw it initially myself the PSG defender has been very hard done by.
"It is very harsh on PSG but if you look at the rules it is the right decision.
"That is the reason VAR is so important because without it that gets missed and Manchester United go out of the cup, which would have been nice from a Liverpool's fan point of view but it would have been an injustice."
Rangers scraped a 1-1 draw with Aberdeen in their Scottish Cup quarter-final on Sunday and ahead of their Scottish Premiership trip to Hibernian on Friday night, Gerrard said he would welcome the introduction of VAR in Scotland.
"I think VAR gets a lot of things right and accurate which is great for the game," he added. "It is not nice when you are on the wrong side of one like PSG last night.
"But I only think it is going to improve the game. Speaking about officials and the support we can give officials up here in Scotland, certainly VAR is the way forward.
"So, hopefully one day we can get it into Scottish football. I think it will be a big help for everyone.
"It will be very welcomed by everyone up here, certainly by myself because I think the percentage of getting decision right certainly goes as close to perfection so it certainly makes sense."
