Tam McManus reacts to penalty incident and red card in Rangers v Aberdeen
Rangers were held to a 1-1 draw by Aberdeen at Pittodrie on Tuesday night in their first game after the break, and Tam McManus was not pleased with some decisions.
Referee Kevin Clancy ignored calls to hand the hosts a penalty in the first-half with the score still goalless, while he sent Ryan Kent off in the second half after a second yellow card.
Both calls were controversial as they come, and McManus was not happy with either, taking to his personal Twitter account to react.
He said: “That’s a stonewall penalty for Aberdeen not given.
“Clearly catches him and it’s just inside the box. Poor decision.
“Not been much in it bar that and the Rangers goal. Rangers look hard to break down under GVB.
“Also think might see a red card. 2nd half will get tasty.”
He reacted thus when his prediction came true: “Clancy. Embarrassing red card, to be honest.
“Seen it coming, though.”
Woeful officiating
Allan McGregor appeared to have caught the left calf of Ryan Hedges, and with that contact, the Dons should have been awarded a penalty kick.
While that will continue to spark debates, Clancy made no mistake when Alfredo Morelos handed the ball in his own box, and Lewis Ferguson made no mistake from the spot to draw his side level.
However, Rangers will argue that Kent should have remained on the pitch after watching the replays of his challenge on Scott Brown.
The former Celtic skipper clearly was in wind-up mode as usual and he made a meal of that tackle.
Nevertheless, Rangers can have no complaints as Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s winning run as manager ended after a woeful second-half performance from them.
The break surely affected their momentum after that seven-game winning run, but they cannot use it as an excuse.
The Hoops are now just four points behind them, and that is not a lot of gap.
In other Rangers news, the BBC are facing a multi-million-pound defamation action over Gers documentary.