Don Robertson shocks BBC pundit after ‘bizarre’ Rangers v Hibernian incident
Don Robertson became a topic of discussion in the BBC commentary gantry as Rangers lost 2-0 against Hibernian on Saturday.
Rangers’ struggles at home continued as they suffered their third defeat at Ibrox under Barry Ferguson against Hibs on 5 April, courtesy of goals from Dylan Levitt and Martin Boyle.
Both of Ferguson’s Scottish Premiership games as the Gers manager have ended in losses, while the Glasgow giants only progressed into the UEFA Europa League after beating Fenerbahce on penalties at Ibrox on 13 March following a 3-4 defeat.
Although the Light Blues will not be too disappointed about the result as they were already 13 points behind Celtic in the table.
Ian McCall shocked by Robertson
Rangers dominated possession against Hibernian, but the visitors had more than a few sights of goal, attempting a total of seven shots.
Josh Campbell was notably through on goal a few minutes before Boyle netted Hibs’ second, but failed to take advantage, dragging his shot wide.
However, referee Robertson then brought the game back for a Rangers free-kick towards the halfway line, leaving Ian McCall and Alisad Lamont confused.
Lamont was lost for words as he was not sure why Robertson had awarded Ferguson’s side a set-piece after letting Campbell go all the way and have a shot.
“Boyle goes down as well, but Campbell’s latched on”, Lamont said on BBC Radio Scotland Extra (5 April, 4:28 pm).
“Campbell is in here, can he make it 2-0? Josh Campbell drags his shot wide and Sterling… The referee, he’s going back.
“I don’t understand what the referee has actually given there.
“He’s coming back and giving Rangers a free-kick in the middle of the park. I don’t think… and he allowed it to go on for the Hibernian chance.”
| Rangers | Stat | Hibernian |
| 15 | Shots | 7 |
| 3 | Shots on target | 3 |
| 72% | Possession | 28% |
| 620 | Passes | 241 |
| 86% | Pass accuracy | 71% |
McCall suggested that Robertson may have been informed of the infringement by one of his assistants, but described the incident as “bizarre” nevertheless.
He said: “I think somebody’s told him, one of the fourth officials or somebody, told him it was a foul, and he’s changed his decision. It’s a bizarre one, that one.”
Meanwhile, Lamont could still not make sense of the incident, explaining that he thought it was Dujon Sterling who may have fouled Boyle in the lead-up to the chance and not the other way around.
“I mean, I didn’t see a foul, I just thought Sterling slipped”, the BBC commentator said.
“Then Boyle seemed to maybe have been caught by Sterling as he slipped, and that allowed Josh Campbell to run in again.
“That’s more than half a chance that one. Campbell, again, failing to hit the target, but I still can’t quite understand the game being called back for a free kick to Rangers.”
Rangers turn attention to Athletic Bilbao showdown
Rangers cannot afford to dwell on their defeat against Hibernian as they have a huge Europa League showdown against Athletic Bilbao coming up.
Ferguson and Co. are scheduled to lock horns with the La Liga outfit at Ibrox in the first leg of their quarter-final tie on Thursday, 10 April.
The Gers will have to shake off their poor run of form at home if they want to beat Bilbao and have a chance to progress further in the competition.
It is worth noting that Rangers have lost each of their five matches at home across all competitions.