David Gray says the ‘rules are the rules’ as he gave his verdict on Sam Dalby’s disallowed goal for Dundee United against Hibs.
Dundee United took the lead after six minutes through Ross Graham’s deflected strike after Rocky Bushiri failed to clear his lines at the back.
Hibs responded via Mykola Kukharevych’s header as the two sides battling for 3rd spot in the Premiership went into the break level.
Controversy then struck concerning VAR in the second-half as United thought they had went 2-1 ahead thanks to a Sam Dalby header.
It was initially awarded by the on-field referee but then VAR intervened to check if it was firstly offside and then to determine if Dalby scored with his arm.
The check took a ridiculous amount of time as United fans started to boo amid the wait. It was eventually ruled out for handball, despite no conclusive evidence to suggest it came off his arm.
Gray on Dundee United’s chalked off goal vs Hibs
Hibs got away with it and managed to earn the three points in the end as Kieron Bowie and Junior Holiett’s late goals sealed a 3-1 win at Tannadice.
Hibs boss Gray spoke to BBC Sportsound after the clash and was quizzed on whether he would be as raging as his United counterpart Jim Goodwin if he saw that goal disallowed against his team.
Gray responded: “I think it’s one of those ones, everyone talks about the letter of the law. From my point of view, it’s a fantastic delivery and Dalby gets to the ball first at the back post.
“And if it comes off his head and into the goal then nobody’s asking about it. I think the fact the letter of the law, they talk about it coming off his arm – the rules are the rules.
“It’s one we get away with because Dalby gets to the ball first and it’s so close to the goal line. On another night, it could have went into the back of the net and found ourselves 2-0 down.
“It’s a huge decision in the game. But of course, every manager over the course of the season will maybe feel like they are on the wrong side of VAR. It’s been brought in to try and improve the game and hopefully it can do moving forward.”
Gray on yet another Hibs victory
Hibs were not pretty on the eye against Dundee United – but they managed to get the job done and move level on points with the Terrors in the league.
They are now only one point behind Aberdeen too, as Gray said: “Huge win and huge three points, especially when we haven’t played at out best tonight. It was always going to be a difficult fixture up here, we’ve already felt that this season.
“But it’s a funny game because it’s probably the poorest we’ve played out of the three time we’ve played against Dundee United, but we found a way to win the game.
“All I can say is a huge congratulations to the players for the efforts they put into the game today and finding a way to win the game.”
Gray looking ahead to Edinburgh derby
It’s now a third Edinburgh derby of the Premiership season to look forward to on Sunday as Hibs and Hearts clash at Easter Road.
Hearts also won 3-1 on Wednesday night as they came from behind to overcome St Mirren. Both capital teams are in revitalised form as Gray previewed the big game.
He said: “Everybody looks towards that fixture asking, ‘when do we play Hearts in the derby?’ Both teams are in far better form than they were the last time we went into it.
“Both teams were down near the bottom of the league last time we met so completely different places. But listen, form goes out the window and it’s about who turns up on the day.
“One thing’s for sure, both sets of players will be looking forward to it and I’m sure both sets of supporters will be as well.”