Andy Halliday explodes at ‘Disgrace’ in Rangers v Fenerbahce
Referee Espen Eskaas was in the spotlight at Ibrox for his involvement in Rangers’ clash with Fenerbahce.
After Rangers secured a 3-1 victory in the reverse fixture, it seemed as though their spot in the quarterfinals was all but nailed on, though Fenerbahce had other ideas.
The victors struck twice in 90 minutes to take the Gers to extra time and penalties, but Jack Butland served up the goods to send Rangers into the quarterfinals.
However, it wasn’t the performance of the players that caught Andy Halliday’s attention; instead, it was that of the referee who was involved in some very contentious decisions.
Rangers unable to maintain momentum v Fenerbahce
With Rangers struggling to pose any real threat throughout the clash, the last thing they needed was for the game to be stop-start, though that is exactly what it was.
Almost every bit of contact was given as a foul, and several Light Blues players were booked for their first fouls in the game.
| Rangers v Fenerbahce | Yellow cards |
| Rangers | 7 |
| Fenerbahce | 4 |
It was those decisions that left Halliday fuming when talking on BBC Sportsound (13 March, 8:57pm)
Halliday said: “I’ve got to say, I think the way the referee’s handled the game so far in the first half has been a disgrace. I really do. I think he’s let nothing go, he’s not let the flow of the game go. I think any foul has resulted in a yellow card.
“Like we said, the only real yellow card that was probably warranted was that John Souttar one.”
While you can’t use the performance of the referee as an excuse for that of Rangers, it certainly hindered their ability to get anything going against Jose Mourinho‘s side.
Rangers struggle to pose a threat against Mourinho’s side
While Cyriel Dessers occasionally held the ball up well, his overall performance against Fenerbahce was far below his usual standards.
However, he wasn’t the only one with the Light Blues failing to pose any real threat in the Ibrox encounter, having looked so threatening in the reverse fixture.
Thankfully, their lack of threat meant little in the grand scheme of things, thanks to Butland’s heroics in the penalty shootout to earn them their spot in the next round of the Europa League.