Hearts ‘desperate’ after footage of Rangers controversy on BBC Sportscene
Rangers got back to winning ways against Hearts on Sunday with a 3-1 victory at Tynecastle, with drama overshadowing the game.
However, the scoreline was not reflective of the Scottish Premiership showdown with the hosts having an array of chances, as well as scoring two own goals to give Rangers the lead twice.
Despite clearly having some luck on the afternoon, there was controversy in the game as Hearts felt they should have been awarded a penalty, moments before the Gers took the lead for the second time.
Clinton Nsiala takes a chance on VAR
It was Clinton Nsiala who was guilty of the push on James Wilson that led to “desperate” Hearts calls for VAR to award the home side a penalty.
Wilson felt he was shoved by Nsiala in the Rangers box although the referee waved play to continue while VAR chose not to intervene.
Straight after, the Light Blues broke at the other end of the pitch which resulted in Vaclav Cerny scoring to put Rangers 2-1 ahead.
Discussing the incident on BBC Sportscene (16 February, 22:30), Stephen McGinn admitted he thought the right call was made, saying: “It’s one of those ones.
“Nsiala takes a chance with VAR because the more you slow it down, the more you look at it, the more it looks like a foul.
“In real play, I didn’t think there was enough to be given a penalty but I would say, as Steven said, as the attacking team you’re desperate for it and I think Nsiala takes a chance.”
Rangers had their share of luck against Hearts
As McGinn says, there probably wasn’t enough in the push from Nsiala for a penalty to be given.
However, you can understand why the home side would be frustrated that it wasn’t even checked by VAR and at the same time, Nsiala will be delighted that his physicality wasn’t punished.
All that matters for the Light Blues is that they got another three points on the board and reduced the gap between themselves and Celtic to 13 points again.
It was Jack Butland who had to save the day with an impressive performance to keep his side in the game on numerous occasions.
Despite the win, there surely remain questions surrounding Philippe Clement’s future at Ibrox and a need for performances to step up soon.
Games against St Mirren and Kilmarnock close off February for Rangers and Clement, who needs two convincing wins and performances to muster any confidence at Ibrox moving forward.
Clement is hanging by a thread still, and he could do without any unnecessary drama and some easy wins between now and the end of the season to have any chance of staying on.