Dundee striker Amadou Bakayoko makes Rangers penalty claim after defeat at Ibrox
Dundee striker Amadou Bakayoko appeared to take a swipe at Rangers after they were awarded a penalty in Saturday’s (9 December) contest at Ibrox.
Rangers were given a spot-kick with the scores locked at 1-1 after Aaron Donnelly was adjudged to have pulled Abdallah Sima’s shirt.
James Tavernier converted from 12 yards to put the Gers on course to a 3-1 Scottish Premiership victory on home soil.
Pundits such as Michael Stewart and Tom English questioned referee Kevin Clancy’s decision to point to the spot.
Asked about the incident after the game, Bakayoko is quoted by the Daily Herald [10 December] as saying: “I couldn’t really see what happened.
“I didn’t really get a good look at it. But they always manage to get penalties, don’t they? It’s one of the things that happens there.”
Bias?
There is no doubt that this latest penalty awarded to Rangers was a little soft, but Donnelly did have his hands on Sima’s shirt.
The Gers have now been given eight penalties this season, six of which have been scored and the other two missed [Transfermarkt].
That is still one short of the league-high nine awarded to Celtic, who have also converted six of those.
Next on the list are Motherwell, Livingston and St Mirren down on three spot-kicks, so there is a big gulf between the Glasgow pair and the rest.
Rangers have had their fair share of poor refereeing decisions go against them this term, though, so it works both ways.
Bakayoko’s comments suggest he is implying there is a bias there, but that is not the case.
It is only natural that the teams that attack more, such as Rangers, will be given more penalties over the course of the season.
In other Rangers news, the Gers are reportedly in talks with a first-team player over a new contract.