Rangers controversy baffles after ‘impossible’ incident v Athletic Bilbao
Rangers were knocked out of the Europa League by Athletic Bilbao on Thursday, but the tie wasn’t without its controversies.
San Mames hosted Barry Ferguson’s team on 17 April, with the hosts beating the Gers 2-0 in the quarter-finals of the competition.
The La Liga outfit opened the scoring after John Souttar gave away a penalty towards the end of the first half, with Liam Kelly unable to replicate the heroics of the first leg as Oihan Sancet scored from the spot.
While the Light Blues had their own opportunities throughout the game, Nico Williams sealed the tie in the 80th minute with his goal, but the Glaswegian outfit will feel aggrieved after being denied a spot kick.
Cyriel Dessers should’ve got Rangers penalty v Athletic
Athletic should’ve been penalised after Cyriel Dessers had his shirt pulled inside the box, Keith Jackson says.
The Daily Record journalist believes the Gers deserved a penalty as Dani Vivian ripped the Nigerian striker’s shirt during the early stages of the game inside the box.
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Jackson was left baffled as VAR failed to help the referee out after the on-field officials apparently made an error.
Speaking on Hotline Live (17 March), the journalist said: “There’s literally no way of explaining why that’s not a penalty. I can get it from the referee’s point of view because maybe Dessers looks if he goes down a bit easy. So, at full speed, if you’re a referee, do you give that penalty? Probably not.
“Although when you look and see the big hole in his shirt, you might have a second thought. But the guy sitting there in VAR, what’s he doing? It’s impossible not to give that penalty.”
Ferguson fuming as penalty denied at San Mames
Ferguson is undoubtedly hoping for a permanent role at Ibrox, and a win over the Spanish club would’ve arguably made him the favourite to take charge of the Gers next season.
The former Scotland international replaced Philippe Clement at the Light Blues temporarily until the end of the campaign, but some fans have called for him to continue.
Billy Dodds, Allan McGregor and Neil McCann are involved in the 47-year-old head coach’s backroom staff, and some changes have evidently been seen in the Bears’ spirit in recent matches.
Rangers weren’t the favourites to win the Europa League, but the Ibrox faithful had hopes of doing something special in the competition.
The Gers beat Jose Mourinho’s Fenerbahce in the last 16 and seemed to shift into different gears during European nights.
While Ernesto Valverde’s team are having an impressive season in La Liga, Ferguson would’ve arguably had a belief that his team could get the job done to reach the semi-finals.
Supporters will rightly feel hard done by, as the threshold for awarding penalties in UEFA competitions appears to differ from that in domestic competitions, as was evident during Arsenal’s trip to Real Madrid in the Champions League, when Raul Asensio was penalised for pulling Mikel Merino in the box.
The 2024/25 campaign has all but come to a close for the Glaswegian outfit now, as they have no silverware left to play for.