St Johnstone meet SFA for clarity on VAR protocol

St Johnstone are meeting the Scottish FA on Monday afternoon seeking an explanation for the award of Rangers' first goal in Saturday's Premier Cup defeat at Hampden.

The Perth club are unhappy Cyriel Dessers' 61st-minute effort was allowed to stand, with referee Matthew MacDermid initially signalling for a foul against the striker then reversing his decision following a VAR intervention.

St Johnstone thought play had been halted, but the SFA later released guidance saying McDermid had blown his whistle after Dessers had put the ball in the net.

The last-16 tie ended 2-0, with Ross McCausland adding a second goal in added time.

St Johnstone are looking for clarification and confirmation from the governing body that the correct protocol was carried out.

"Everybody stopped because of one or two things," said Saints manager Craig Levein after the game. "Either they’ve stopped because they heard the whistle or they've seen the referee giving us a free-kick.

"I think the referee’s made a mistake. And I’d love him to come out afterwards and just say, ‘look I’ve got that one wrong’."