Nico Raskin slammed live on BBC Sportscene as Rangers v Celtic footage shared
Peter Grant slammed Rangers midfielder Nico Raskin for his “silly” push on Joe Hart that denied his side a goal against Celtic.
Abdallah Sima thought he had put Rangers in front with an hour played of Saturday’s (25 May) Scottish Cup final at Hampden Park.
However, referee Nick Walsh consulted the pitchside monitor and ruled it out due to Raskin’s shove on Hart before Sima turned in.
Having initially missed the shove while at the game, Grant insisted it was the right call from the officials after he had watched the incident back.
“I was at the game and didn’t see it,” he said on BBC Sportscene [25 May, 26m 30s]. “It’s a great delivery and you can see from the first replay that Raskin pushes Joe [Hart] in the back.
“It’s a definite free-kick and nobody can argue with that. It’s silly because I don’t know if Joe is getting there. There’s no doubt the referee’s made the right call.”
Rangers suffer Scottish Cup final disappointment
As frustrating as it is, you have to accept that Raskin did shove Hart and left the officials with little choice but to rule out the goal.
In such a tight game of very few chances, one that was ultimately settled in the final seconds, this was a truly massive moment.
Indeed, it was a season-defining moment as now the Gers are left to reflect on a hugely disappointing campaign on the whole.
Whether Hart was getting to the ball or not is hard to say, but he did not look all that comfortable as the ball came in from James Tavernier.
What made this all the more uncomfortable is that Raskin could have got close to Hart without making any serious contact with him.
Had he done so and the ball had made its way to Sima still, the 2023-24 campaign would have had a far more positive spin.
In other Rangers news, a report has named the Gers loanee most likely to remain at Ibrox for next season.
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