Dermot Gallagher reacts to controversial moment in Hearts v Rangers
Dermot Gallagher has given his reaction to a moment of controversy that ensued between Hearts and Rangers at Tynecastle.
Rangers secured a fairly comfortable 3-1 victory against Hearts at the weekend, moving them a remarkable 18 points clear of Aberdeen yet still 13 behind Celtic.
Rangers certainly received a helping hand at Tynecastle, with Jamie McCart scoring two own goals while Vaclav Cerny was also able to get his name on the scoresheet for the Light Blues.
However, the win didn’t arrive without a moment of controversy towards the latter stages of the game, with one particular incident going unpunished.
Rangers controversy v Hearts
With the score level at 1-1, Hearts felt as though they had a strong case for a penalty when James Wilson appeared to be bundled over in the penalty area by Clinton Nsiala, although referee John Beaton was unfazed by the challenge and waved play on.
Former Premier League referee Gallagher admitted that Beaton was unable to see the incident clearly to give the foul, while claiming it wasn’t one to be intervened with by VAR.
Speaking on Sky Sports Ref Watch [17 February], Gallagher said: “The referee, if you see his starting position, we can’t see him in the picture because he’s way behind after being caught on the break.
“Whether he thinks it’s a foul or not, we can’t tell because the player is between. There is a little push there. Is there enough to give a penalty?
“We can see the referee coming into the picture there. He’s got what I call a ‘down the barrel view’. He can’t see that. It goes to VAR and they will say ‘Well, it doesn’t meet the threshold’.”
Philippe Clement survives another game at Rangers
While the Light Blues appear unlikely to achieve any success this campaign, Clement is still in a job at Ibrox.
A shock 1-0 defeat to Queen’s Park curtailed any hopes of domestic success, leaving Rangers with the Europa League as their only remaining chance of silverware.
When taking into account the frailties on show this season, it appears a rather unlikely route of success, especially with Clement still in charge.
At the moment, it appears the Gers hierarchy are holding off on any decision over Clement’s future until the end of the campaign when they will then have a huge decision to make.
The likelihood is that it will be a very simple decision given the wretched campaign Rangers have endured this time round.