Charlie Nicholas says Rangers took ‘bait’ and are behaving like ‘an absolute joke’
Charlie Nicholas has slammed Rangers following the draw with Aberdeen at Pittodrie last week, saying their behaviour is “an absolute joke”.
Sky Sports reported on Friday that Gers had submitted a letter to the SFA complaining about Kevin Clancy’s refereeing, but Nicholas thinks the Ibrox side get the benefit of many decisions, and said the blame should rest on the players for falling for Scott Brown’s “bait” in the sending off of Ryan Kent.
Writing in his Scottish Daily Express column on Monday, the ex-Celtic man said: “There will come a time when Rangers get the benefit of the doubt but I bet you they don’t come out and acknowledge that!
“Yet, they want to come out and have a go when they feel there has been an injustice. I think it is an absolute joke.
“Rangers are trying to show their authority by throwing their weight around when they don’t like things.
“They have absolutely no case. The bottom line is their own players got hooked in by Brown and they ended up failing miserably on the park.”
Biased or fair point?
The decision-making of Clancy in the 1-1 drew has been widely criticised, and the Scot was subsequently taken off the rotation for this weeks slate of matches (Daily Record).
And while the Light Blues were particularly aggrieved by the red cart for Kent, and the lack of one for Jonny Hayes for an elbow on Borna Barisic, Aberdeen were also not awarded a first-half penalty for a coming together between Ryan Hedges and Allan McGregor.
Gers fans might feel that a former Hoops man would be revelling in the misfortune of the Ibrox side, especially considering the involvement of the former Celtic captain Brown.
But the ex-Sky Sports pundit was on the other side of the debate a few months ago, dismissing claims that Rangers were unfairly getting decisions (Daily Record).
He acknowledges that his former side on the other half of Glasgow also benefit in comparison to the rest of Scottish football, and fans of clubs who are not among the league’s elite the world over will likely agree with him.
On balance, Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s men were probably happy to get out of Pittodrie with a point considering how the match went, and it seems hard to chalk up the dropped points entirely to refereeing incompetence.
In other Rangers news, this member of the Gers squad is close to signing a new contract.