Hearts defender Alex Cochrane suggests referees are influenced by Rangers crowd
Hearts defender Alex Cochrane has suggested that refereeing decisions go in favour of Rangers more often than not because of pressure on the referee from the Ibrox crowd.
Cochrane claimed the decision went against them because of the crowd, but also admitted that his team had shot themselves in the foot by giving the referee that call to make.
He also shared that the loss was a difficult one to take given their lead in the game, but they were at fault for switching off and not regrouping after the first goal went in.
Speaking to the Glasgow Times on 31 October, Cochrane shared: “It was something that was spoken about at half-time, about the blockings.
“Obviously, you know when you go to those places and the crowd are on top of the referee, some decisions may go our way and some may not.
“It was just one of those things. But the penalty was given. After that, we had to regroup and make sure we didn’t concede. Obviously, the penalty happened. But we had to see the game out for the nine minutes of injury time. It was a very hard one to take.
“We have shot ourselves in the foot with the goals and the times of them, but there are also positives to take and we will look at them.”
Suck it up and move on
Every team in the league has decisions and results go against them, just as they also have them go in their favour. Ultimately, complaining about these calls after the games will do nothing to change the outcome.
Cochrane was right to stall his criticism of the referee, although what he did say was more than enough of an accusation, and turn the focus onto what he and his team had not done well enough. That’s the stuff you can control and sort out for the next game.
As far as Rangers are concerned, they were able to capitalise on the decision that was made, and also on Hearts switching off, to secure what was a very important and impressive win as Philippe Clement’s side showed belief and resilience.
It’s a good sign when you get results that leave the opponents frustrated, because getting these wins even when you don’t necessarily deserve them will be crucial to the outlay of the season, particularly on a weekend when Celtic dropped points.
In other Rangers news, Philippe Clement could bring back one player Michaele Beale let go.