Martin Boyle gets Hibs penalty 'bugger off' response as he feared VAR was going to wreck celebration again

Boyle saw a League Cup cele cut short at hampden by VAR and thought it was happening again at Pittodrie.

Martin Boyle has claimed players are told by refs to take a hike – and are as much in the dark as fans when it comes to VAR.

The striker got off the mark as he netted Hibs' opener in the 2-2 draw with Aberdeen. It was a match that was shrouded in controversy with both managers claiming they should have been awarded penalties on review. Hibs wanted a penalty for a handball from Nicky Devlin while Neil Warnock claimed David Marshall’s challenge on Bojan Miovski was dangerous.

Boyle said: “There’s none of that, we are just are told to bugger off. I don’t know what they are speaking about. It’s just mental but if the right calls are made then fair play. I’m just looking around. The referee is listening in his ear. We don’t know what is going on. There are multiple things being checked and going on. It was 10 minutes at the end and we were waiting for five minutes.

“The game could play on or be called back. If the right calls are made then fine but if mistakes start to crawl in then that is not ideal. I have no idea what is going on half the time.

“It was stop-start and a bit chaotic. The stoppages are not ideal for anyone and we have 10 minutes at the end. “If they made the right call then happy days but there is nothing we can do.”

Boss Nick Montgomery felt he should have had a penalty for a Nicky Devlin handball. Boyle said: “The referee can’t do anything unless it is overturned by VAR. Nobody really claimed for it though.”

He took it tight from some of the Aberdeen fans and was delighted to net. Boyle added: “I did my celebration and thought ‘not again’ but thankfully they have got it right. I don’t want any more mistakes.

“On Twitter this week I was getting a bit of abuse. I like that, a bit of interaction and a bit of banter. It was great character from the boys to come back.”