Nick Montgomery fumes at ‘illegal’ moment from Philippe Clement in Rangers v Hibernian
Hibernian boss Nick Montgomery has hit out at the officiating as his side fell to a 4-0 defeat to Rangers, as he claims Philippe Clement should have been sent off for stopping the ball before it was out of play.
Clement put his foot on the ball and prevented it from getting away, but Montgomery believes the ball had not actually left the pitch, and the Rangers boss had therefore interfered with the ball while it was in play.
This incident is reminiscent of one that saw Kilmarnock boss Derek McInnes sent off before the international break, and the Hibs boss has called for more consistency from the officials.
Speaking to BBC Sportsound after the game [21 October], as shared by the Daily Record, Montgomery fumed: “I don’t think I would ever step on the pitch and control the ball. If he had any doubt there is no way you step on the pitch.
“From where I was, it didn’t go out, the fourth official didn’t think it had gone out. When that happens, you probably think it’s not going to be your day because at that point they have got 12 men on the pitch and that’s illegal.
“That is not why we lost the game but when that incident happened I was just confused as to why it was allowed. The worst thing about it is they get the throw-in.
“Away at Ibrox you don’t expect any favours but that is not within the laws of the game.”
The frustrations of a beaten manager
Ultimately, all the fume and complaining from Montgomery are simply the words of a beaten manager. Montgomery is obviously looking for a place to focus his frustrations, and he’s landed on an incident that had little-to-no real impact on the game at all.
While perhaps the laws of the game could have seen the new Rangers boss sent off, the referee evidently didn’t feel he had impeded the game or entered the field of play while the ball was active, otherwise, he would have been punished accordingly.
The line from Montgomery about having 12 men on the pitch is borderline hilarious, as if Clement was about the run up top and score a goal for the hosts, but it’ll be up to him to move on and tone down his ranting and raving.
In other Rangers news, Kenny Miller was wowed by what one Gers star did against Hibs.