Sky Sports reporter reacts live on air to Rangers controversy v Livingston
Mark Benstead has reacted to a controversial moment that led to Rangers taking the lead against Livingston on Wednesday (27 September).
Speaking on Sky Sports’ Soccer Special (08:12pm), the reporter said there was a “definite push” in the build-up to Abdallah Sima handing the Gers the lead on 10 minutes in the Viaplay Cup clash.
He said it was a “fabulous finish” from the 22-year-old Senegalese, but that the forward gave Livi defender Jamie Brandon a shove in the back before going through on goal.
“Livingston far from happy with the build-up to this goal,” he said. “It came from a Rangers attack down the left, Ridvan Yilmaz played the ball down the left to Abdallah Sima.
“The defender Jamie Brandon got to the ball before him, Sima gave him a little shove in the back, the defender went down, play continued, Sima closed in on the area, bent a right foot shot across the goalkeeper and in. A fabulous finish, but there was a definite push in the back in the build-up.”
Questionable
It isn’t really much of a surprise to see that the Livingston players weren’t happy about the referee’s decision to award Sima’s goal.
The forward did ease the defender off the ball as he went to take a touch and a foul should have really been given before he put the ball in the net.
There was probably a lot more in it than when Kemar Roofe had his strike disallowed earlier this month in the Old Firm clash against Celtic after Cyriel Dessers was wrongly accused of committing a foul in the build-up.
You could say that evens things up, but Livi definitely won’t see it that way, especially if that ends up being the goal that sees them knocked out of the competition.
The Light Blues will certainly take that fortune, though, and Michael Beale will feel as though he deserves a bit of luck after plenty has gone against him this season.
In other Rangers news, a journalist was left perplexed by one of Beale’s decisions against Motherwell.