Espen Eskas called out after ‘Rubbish’ Rangers controversy v Fenerbahce
Rangers have progressed to the Europa League quarter-finals after a nail-biting penalty shootout win over Fenerbahce.
Jack Butland was the hero, saving spot-kicks from Fenerbahce duo Dusan Tadic and Fred to hand the Gers a last eight meeting with Bilbao.
The Light Blues were a shadow of last week at Ibrox, with Sebastian Szymanski scoring twice for the Istanbul side to force extra time and penalties.
Meanwhile, referee Espen Eskas had a busy game, and brandished five yellow cards during the first half alone, and Rangers were the recipients of four of them.
Eskas hammered for Dujon Sterling punishment
One of the Gers stars who was booked during the first half of their second leg with Fenerbahce was versatile defender Sterling, when he was adjudged to have fouled Filip Kostic in the 25th minute.
| Dujon Sterling stats | 2024/25 Europa League |
| Appearances | 7 |
| Starts | 4 |
| Goals | 0 |
| Assists | 1 |
Former Rangers striker Steven Thompson told BBC Radio Scotland [13 March, 20:24]: “That’s a rubbish booking.
“The referee has been influenced, for me, a lot of the Fenerbahce players, when they are getting severe pressure from Rangers, they’re going down and rolling around on the ground and you’ve got the Mourinho factor on the sideline with the fourth official.”
Sterling was subsequently hooked from the action by Gers interim boss Barry Ferguson, making way for Ridvan Yilmaz on 55 minutes, which may have been due to his previous booking on a night when referee Eskas was particularly card happy.
Interestingly though, just one booking was brandished in the second half when Ianis Hagi was shown a yellow card on 93 minutes.
Rangers’ attention must now turn back to their domestic campaign
Rangers’ incredible Europa League journey is now set to continue, as they will face Bilbao in the quarter finals.
But the Light Blues must now turn their attention back to their domestic season, while Scottish Premiership games simply do not come bigger than Sunday’s Old Firm Derby clash at Celtic Park.
Ferguson’s men have endured a tricky campaign in the league, and sit a whopping 16 points behind league leaders and bitter rivals Celtic.
They were also dumped out of the Scottish Cup via an embarrassing Ibrox defeat at the hands of Championship outfit Queen’s Park.
A 2-0 home defeat at the hands of St Mirren soon followed, which led to the sacking of former boss Philippe Clement.
But the Gers can reinstall the sort of feel-good factor which has been missing for large spells of the current campaign if they can emerge victorious at Celtic Park on Sunday.
Supporters will also be anxious to see their side defeat Hibernian at Ibrox on Saturday 5 April, as their last victory on home soil arrived on 2 February, when they beat Ross County 4-0.