SFA stance on Rangers v Livingston penalty incident revealed as chairman issues statement

The match was level at 1-1 on 20 minutes when, straight after Livingston had just equalised through Teti Yengi, a goalbound shot from the same player struck the arm of Rangers defender Emmanuel Fernandez, who had earlier netted the opening goal.

Referee Ross Hardie missed the incident but was not sent to the monitor by Video Assistant Referee John Beaton, much to the dismay of Livingston manager David Martindale, who felt his side had been denied a "stonewall" penalty kick at a crucial point in the match as Rangers went on to claim the three points through Mohamed Diomande's winner on 78 minutes.

At the time, guidance was issued by the Scottish FA explaining that VAR chose not to intervene due to the short proximity and that Fernandez arm was perceived to have been in a natural position.

Livingston have since discussed the matter with the SFA and chairman Ford issued an update on Wednesday revealing that the governing body admitted an error was made by the match officials.

"I wanted to express how frustrated I am, like all of you, on the well documented handball decision that we weren’t awarded a penalty for at Ibrox on Saturday," his letter to supporters read.

"It was a huge moment in the match, particularly having just levelled things moments before, and we firmly believe we should have been awarded a penalty and with it, a very good chance to take the lead.

"We held lengthy conversations with the SFA this week, and the incident has officially been recognised as a mistake. We should have received a penalty. While the easy road would be to dwell in the anger and frustration, we must now put this behind us and move forward. Believe me, this is a challenge for myself as well. But how we react to the incident on Sunday – fully supporting our team against Aberdeen – is far more significant to the health and success of this Club.

"I want to thank our players, our staff, and our incredible supporters – especially those who made the trip to Glasgow on Saturday – for their unwavering support of the Club. Please know that I will always work to support and defend this Livingston FC community, and am confident and optimistic for an incredibly bright future ahead, despite setbacks such as what happened on Saturday. We will persevere. We will succeed.

"We greatly appreciate our supporters and your backing week-on-week, and look forward to seeing you all here again on Sunday. Let’s turn our anger into incredible roaring support for our team this weekend."