‘Difficult to get upset’ – Stewart makes bold claim over controversial call in Rangers v M’well
Michael Stewart has claimed that it is hard to get upset about the decision to not rule out Cedric Itten’s goal for Rangers against Motherwell for offside.
Itten scored against Motherwell for the fourth time this season as he rescued a point for the Gers during Sunday’s game at Fir Park.
The replays suggest that the Swiss striker had just strayed offside but former Hearts man Stewart claims that it is difficult to complain about the decision.
Speaking on BBC Scotland’s Sportscene programme, Stewart said, “He is marginally [offside] but I don’t think that you can complain.”
Presenter and former Rangers forward Steven Thompson interjected at that point, saying, “He looks off”.
Stewart replied, “Marginally, I don’t think you can complain. I don’t think you can have a go at the linesman for that.
“It’s so tight, you give the benefit of the doubt to the striker. I think it’s so close, it’s difficult to get upset about that.”
One person who will be upset about the decision is Motherwell boss Graham Alexander who was calling for the flag to go up as the Rangers cross was sent in towards Itten.
The Light Blues really weren’t at it during the game at Fir Park and Steven Gerrard couldn’t have complained if his side’s unbeaten league run finally came to an end on Sunday.
The result kept the distance between Rangers and Celtic to 21 points following the Hoops’ draw earlier in the weekend.
If the flag had gone up against Itten and a loss followed then the door may have just been opened for Celtic to recover in the title race.
Their chances would still be incredibly slim but there is no doubting that the linesman keeping his flag down could have an impact on the title race.
The overwhelming feeling after this weekend is that Rangers must do better.
We can’t be relying on debatable calls from the officials as we look to win 55.
In other Rangers news, these Gers fans are furious with Neil Lennon following his outburst on Monday.