Rangers and Philippe Clement ridiculed over SFA complaint
Stephen McGowan has ridiculed Rangers for how they have handled their complaints about the officiating in the Scottish League Cup final against Celtic.
The Gers should have been awarded a penalty in the final and that has been made more than clear in the weeks after the Bhoys triumphed and left Hampden Park with the trophy in their hands.
Rangers put up a more than decent fight throughout the 120 minutes that were played but, in the end, Brendan Rodgers’ men were the ones who won 5-4 on penalties.
Writing for the Scottish Daily Mail [28 December], journalist McGowan shared his thoughts on how Philippe Clement and his men have handled the situation.
“Rangers have written to the SFA raising serious concerns over the standard of VAR decision-making in the Premier Sports Cup final,” he wrote.
“The governing body should write straight back demanding to know what measures the Ibrox club plan to adopt to stop Philippe Clement losing to Celtic on January 2.
“How they propose to prevent Jack Butland giving away daft penalties against St Mirren. Or clarifying why Dujon Sterling lost the ball for the Saints winner in the third minute of added time.
“Football is a game riddled with human error. One where clubs who don’t fancy dwelling too long on their own failings rarely miss a chance to flag up the failings of VAR to get angry fans off their back.”
McGowan then also added: “The only question anyone should be asking is whether the Hampden Three have really served their time? And if the SFA think the punishment is proportionate and fair, they should have no hesitation in writing straight back to Rangers urging them to put their own house in order before doling out governance lectures to anyone else.”
Rangers need to move on from Scottish League Cup final v Celtic
It’s been almost two weeks since the Gers felt like they were robbed of adding another trophy to their cabinet.
While the Ibrox outfit are well within their rights to feel annoyed, now that it’s already happened, there’s not an awful lot that can be done or changed about the situation they find themselves in.
Rangers have received an apology from Willie Collum, with the SFA even admitting their wrongdoing in the game.
Although it may have cost them a trophy, the decision has already been made and obviously can’t be changed.
They may have missed out on some silverware by not leaving Hampden Park victorious but at the moment, it feels like they have bigger problems to deal with, especially after their recent 2-1 defeat against St Mirren.
They’re still decently placed in the Europa League and while their title hopes might be tarnished due to the 12-point gap that separates them and first-placed Celtic, they still have the Scottish Cup to think about in January.
In other Rangers news, Scott Allan has slammed one of the Gers’ first-team aces for a moment of “absolute madness” that occurred against St Mirren.
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