UEFA ‘to provide answers’ after strange Rangers controversy v Athletic Bilbao
Rangers lost 2-0 to Athletic Club in the Europa League on Thursday, raising potential questions for UEFA after some controversial incidents.
San Mames hosted Barry Ferguson’s team on 17 April, with Cyriel Dessers pleading for a penalty after Dani Vivian ripped his shirt, but the referee waived the Nigerian striker’s protests.
The Spanish club were subsequently awarded a spot kick just before the break, which Oihan Sancet converted, and Nico Williams sealed the tie in the 80th minute.
While the La Liga outfit may have been the better team on the day, the Ibrox faithful will arguably demand answers from UEFA after what happened.
Rangers to demand answers from UEFA after penalty denied v Athletic
UEFA must provide answers after VAR failed to intervene when Dessers had his shirt pulled, Jonny McFarlane says.
The Scottish journalist believes the officials failed to award a crystal clear penalty to the Gers at San Mames after the apparent foul on the 30-year-old centre-forward early in the game.
| Stats | Athletic | Rangers |
| Posession | 56% | 44% |
| Expected goals (xG) | 2.7 | 0.54 |
| Shots on target | 4 | 2 |
| Big chances missed | 2 | 2 |
McFarlane wants UEFA to explain what happened in the VAR room while they were reviewing Vivian’s evident foul on the Nigerian ace.
The journalist wrote in the Rangers Review (18 April): “Now I don’t like conspiracy theories, but it’s hardly surprising they exist when the truly inexplicable happens. How could VAR overlook this blatant, crystal clear penalty?
“The uproar that followed the final whistle was entirely justified, and you don’t have to be a Mourinho-style conspiracy theorist to suggest UEFA must provide answers to what exactly was going on in their VAR room.”
Patrick Stewart needs to make demands at Ibrox after Europa League exit
Patrick Stewart should be on the phone at Ibrox and ask Aleksander Ceferin why the officials at San Mames didn’t think the Light Blues deserved a penalty.
The Bears showed in the first leg of the Europa League quarter-finals that they were capable of holding their own against Athletic.
Despite losing Robin Propper early on in the fixture, the Glaswegian outfit managed to get a 0-0 draw against Ernesto Valverde’s team despite all odds.
While qualifying for the Europa League semi-finals was a tough ask for Rangers, they may have had a better opportunity had the referee awarded them a penalty.
The Ibrox faithful will undoubtedly be upset about being knocked out of the European competition as the Gers have nothing left to play for this season.
Celtic are on course to win the Scottish Premiership and the Light Blues were knocked out by Queen’s Park from the Scottish Cup earlier in the campaign.
Ferguson could’ve potentially cemented his place as the next permanent manager at the Bears had he beaten Athletic, but now it remains to be seen what 49ers Enterprises and Andrew Cavenagh will decide once they complete their takeover.