Chris Sutton has dismissed Stephen Robinson's post-match assessment of Aberdeen's defeat to Rangers as "absolute nonsense" after the Dons failed to take anything from the game at Ibrox.
Lawrence Shankland's first-half penalty proved decisive after Djeidi Gassama was brought down by Dan Happe. Aberdeen thought they had levelled late on through Kevin Nisbet, but the goal was ruled out after a VAR review judged Nisbet had pushed Dujon Sterling in the build-up. Replays also showed Nisbet to be in an offside position, which would have been examined as part of the second phase had the on-field decision stood.
Robinson defends performance
Speaking to Sky Sports after the match, Robinson said: "I can't control decisions. I can't control what VAR sees as too much force, and not enough force. I can't control it. I can control that we defend better for the goal. First half, regarding the ownership of the game, I thought we could have shown a bit more composure."
He added: "In the second half, I think we were very, very good in terms of our attitude, our running and creating chances. But we didn't get anything out of it. You can't feel sorry for yourself. VAR has played an integral role on that."
Sutton hits back
Asked if he agreed with Robinson's take, Sutton responded: "I think any Aberdeen fan watching that would think, 'What are you talking about? Was that the same game which we watched?' Key moments went against Aberdeen? Absolute nonsense, absolute rubbish."
He continued: "They took the game to Rangers - did they? When? I'll have to watch the game back, because I didn't see it. They are lucky to have three points on the board because they were lucky against Hearts in the first game."
Former Rangers striker Kris Boyd also weighed in, saying: "He might want to come out and talk about decisions, but the penalty is a penalty kick. It's a stone-waller on Gassama. The other two - I don't see it. You don't need to look for a penalty. The goal, for me it's a push - but if you move it on he is offside anyway, so it's irrelevant. Nothing went against Stephen Robinson today, his team were poor."
