Rangers v Aberdeen officials called out by Keith Hackett over Ibrox controversy
Rangers finally put an end to their poor run of form at Ibrox with a 4-0 win over Aberdeen on Sunday.
Vaclav Cerny, Cyriel Dessers, Hamza Igamane and Jefte were all on the scoresheet for a convincing victory on 11 May, in which the Union Bears unfurled a pointed message pre-match.
The Gers had failed to win their previous seven matches on home soil in all competition, but this win in front of a far-from-full Ibrox will help lift the mood.
Rangers had a Cyriel Dessers chalked off for offside in the first half, while Aberdeen’s Kristers Tobers was also involved in a contentious moment 10 minutes before the break.
Tobers lucky not to be sent off against Rangers
Tobers caught Nedim Bajrami high up on the shin and raked his boot down his opponent’s leg, which resulted in a yellow card from referee David Dickinson.
VAR checked the footage and decided not to ask Dickinson to check the pitchside monitor, meaning they did not feel it was a clear and obvious error.
However, former FIFA referee Keith Hackett took a completely different view, arguing that Tobers was fortunate not to be sent off as the officials got it wrong by the letter of the law.
| Stats | Won | Drawn | Lost | Points |
| Ferguson | 4 | 3 | 2 | 15 |
“This is more than a reckless challenge,” Hackett exclusively told Ibrox News. “It is a challenge that meets the law criteria for serious foul play and should have resulted in a red card.
“The law states that a tackle or challenge that endangers the safety of an opponent or uses excessive force or brutality must be sanctioned as serious foul play.
“Any player who lunges at an opponent in challenging for the ball from the front, from the side or from behind using one or both legs, with excessive force or endangers the safety of an opponent is guilty of serious foul play.”
Rangers back to winning Ibrox ways in style
Rangers’ season is badly petering out, as summed up by the empty seats around Ibrox, but this was an impressive win against an admittedly poor Aberdeen side.
Ferguson’s men were superb in the second half and good value for the margin of victory, which could have been even bigger.
Aberdeen may have been fortunate not to have been down to 10 men in the first half, but it ultimately mattered little.