Alan Brazil and Ally McCoist have fumed at the recent controversy surrounding a handball ruling delivered against Celtic as they recalled a recent occurrence against Rangers.

The two questioned the procedure behind the handball judgments, with McCoist calling for the regulations to be clarified as there is no consistency with what is and isn’t granted by the officials.

Brazil went as far as to argue the disputed calls are hurting the game, with the officials no more clear on the regulations than the fans and pundits are.

Speaking live on talkSPORT [6 March, 06:09], McCoist shared: “It was disgraceful. It’s incredible. Believe it or not, Kilmarnock got one at home to Rangers, and the Celtic one was even worse, but Lundstram didn’t even move his arm, it’s at his side and it hits him.”

Brazil immediately responded: “That’s the problem, Ally, nobody knows what the rules are around hand-balls. You may get five referees and three will say one and two will say the other.”

McCoist proceeded to fume: “They have to bring the word ‘Obvious’ or ‘Deliberate’ in. You and I know, if you’ve played the game at any level you know whether it’s a purposeful handball. 99 times out of 100, you know.”

Before, ultimately, Brazil surmised: “It’s spoiling the game,” and McCoist added, “It is, it’s absolutely terrible.”

Is refereeing inconsistency harming the game in Scotland?

Scottish officials have been under fire of late after some questionable decisions against both Old Firm clubs, with McCoist and Brazil the latest to aim their crosshairs at refereeing in the SPFL.

This issue goes beyond Scotland, too, with anomalies in judgments a talking point virtually every weekend in the Premier League as well, leading to allegations that either the referees simply aren’t good enough, or the regulations aren’t clear enough.

Rangers in particular have been severely crucial of referees already this season, with both Alan Muir and Willie Collum coming under fire for questionable rulings against the Ibrox club, going as far as to suggest Collum was barred from refereeing their games.