‘Nick Walsh correct’ as Ibrox rages at first-half Dessers incident in Rangers loss
Cryiel Dessers and Rangers fans were up in arms at Nick Walsh in the first half of their Scottish Premiership defeat to Motherwell at Ibrox on Saturday.
First-half goals by Luke Armstrong and Tom Sparrow set the Steelmen on course for victory before Dessers, 30, managed to grab what turned out to be a consolation goal in the 54th minute.
There was late drama in Barry Ferguson’s Ibrox homecoming when Dessers thought he had a second, only for the offside flag to be raised and VAR to confirm the on-field decision.
However, there was also another moment in the first half, when Motherwell were only 1-0 up, when Dessers and the Rangers crowd thought they should have had an indirect free-kick inside the penalty box.
Walsh ignores Rangers pass-back shouts v Motherwell
In the 23rd minute, Rangers-linked Motherwell star Lennon Miller attempted what looked like a pass back to his goalkeeper Ellery Balcombe, who then picked up the ball after it bounced in front of him.
Home fans and a bunch of players had their arms in the air, waving for referee Walsh to award their side an indirect free-kick in the penalty area.
| Position | Team | Played | GD | Points |
| 1. | Celtic | 29 | +70 | 75 |
| 2. | Rangers | 29 | +33 | 50 |
Former FIFA-listed referee Keith Hackett, however, believes the ball came off Dessers before going to Balcombe, something which the assistant referee near to the incident would have told Walsh.
“The assistant referee is in a good position to judge if the ball has made contact on its way to goal,” Hackett told Ibrox News.
“He will have communicated through his comms system and that enables the decision to be made that the ball had struck a player and therefore was not a back pass.”
Rangers fans clutching at straws
After footage of the incident was uploaded to social media, a lot of Rangers fans had it in their heads that Walsh was having a shocker by not giving them an indirect free-kick inside the Motherwell box.
However, it’s clear that the ball would have struck Dessers before going to Balcombe as it happened right in front of the assistant, who’d have communicated that with Walsh instantly.
If you’re a Rangers fan complaining about incidents like this, you need to stop because it’s not referees who are costing the team, it’s the players, the management and the board.
The 49ers Enterprises takeover cannot come soon enough at Ibrox.