Keith Hackett thrilled by officials after Rangers penalty decision v Hibernian shown on BBC
We’re delighted to welcome former Premier League referee Keith Hackett as our exclusive Rangers columnist. Each week he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at Ibrox…
Keith Hackett was left thrilled by the officials after Rangers were handed a penalty in their 2-0 win against Hibernian.
Ryan Kent was fouled only five minutes into the game by Paul McGinn, and the referee pointed instantly to the spot.
Reacting to the clip on BBC Sportscene, ex-FIFA official, Hackett was delighted by the positioning of the referee at Ibrox.
“That’s a penalty,” he exclusively told Ibrox News.
“One thing I’ve been very consistent with is the position of the referees, what we’ve got in Scotland are referees who follow play closely and are prepared to enter the penalty area.
“Therefore, for me, it was an excellent piece of refereeing, absolutely brilliant. Spot on decision.”
Spot on.
There could never have been any complaints after this one, it was a stonewall penalty which was right given.
Michael Stewart tried his best to cast doubt over the decision saying it wasn’t clear, yet McGinn just went through Kent and got none of the ball as he skipped by.
Anyone with clear footballing knowledge could have seen this was clear, and thankfully, the officials were in a brilliant position to spot it.
We often take aim at certain referees for their shocking decisions, so we have to heap some praise on them when they get it right, and this was one of those moments.
In other Rangers news, this BBC pundit was left ‘screaming’ after major transfer development at Ibrox