Robbie Savage baffled by what John Beaton did in Rangers draw v Hibs
Robbie Savage was left baffled after referee John Beaton awarded Hibernian a penalty in their 3-3 draw against Rangers.
The Gers took the lead after just four minutes through Hamza Igamane who made it 2-0 in the 19th minute, although the hosts got back into it to make the game 2-1 before half-time thanks to Martin Boyle.
Hibs were awarded a penalty by Beaton juar after the hour when Ianis Hagi battled to get the ball from Josh Campbell as he entered the box but the referee decided he took none of the ball and Hibernian scored the penalty to get level.
Savage disagreed with the penalty decision, though, as he said live on BBC Radio 5 Live show 606 (5 January, 18:40): “How is that a penalty?
“The Hibs player kicked the Rangers player. Never a penalty.
“He [Hagi] got goal side and he got kicked.
“If he gets in front and he gets kicked, how is that a penalty?
“He was goal side, he got his body between the goal and the ball and he got kicked. Hagi was goal side.”
Rangers settle for a point against Hibernian
Rangers will have been disappointed to come away from this clash with only a point, especially after taking the lead so soon into the game then going ahead 3-2 through Igamane’s hat-trick.
Hagi will surely be feeling some of the responsibility on his shoulders after the decision to award a penalty was given after his challenge.
You can understand Savage’s point of view as it was probably a soft call for a foul and it certainly proved to be a boost the hosts needed to change the game. However, you also have to question the 26-year-old’s decision-making as a challenge like his in the box can always be a risk.
Thankfully for Philippe Clement, Igamane proved to be the star once again scoring a perfect hat-trick, though the fact they surrendered the lead again is a major concern.
However, the Gers will have been looking to build on their 3-0 victory against Celtic on Thursday (2 December) and therefore the pressure stays on with consistency badly needed from the Ibrox outfit.
In other Rangers news, Gary Keown still isn’t convinced by Philippe Clement after his treatment of two Ibrox stars this season.
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