‘Rangers get in the head of Scottish FA officials as public spat continues in new twist’
Rangers and Emmanuel Fernandez were left sweating despite VAR coming to their rescue at Ibrox against Livingston.
Fernandez returned to the Gers fold in Rangers’ 2-1 triumph over Livingston on 22 November.
The defender thumped a header home to put the Bears in front within the opening 10 minutes, but his return was not without controversy.
Tete Yengi equalised for the away side before Fernandez seemed to handle the ball in the box from another shot in an incident that Michael Stewart later branded “outrageous”.
Rangers criticised for influencing match officials
The incident has left a bitter stain on what was Danny Rohl‘s fourth win in the Scottish Premiership this season, with even Rangers fans admitting they got away with one.
Rohl replaced Russell Martin at Ibrox in a bid to turn their season around, and it seems he’s doing just that, with this his fourth consecutive league win.
However, Keith Jackson remains convinced that Livingston should have received a penalty for the incident involving Fernandez and Yengi, even suggesting a new conspiracy theory.
“It’s a penalty all day long,” he said via the print edition of the Daily Record on 24 November.
“It does seem as if Rangers very publicly throwing the toys out of the pram may have got into the heads of the officials involved.”
The Scottish FA have since explained the decision, noting that Fernandez’s arm was in a natural position.
Rangers fans would’ve felt vindicated by that, given that the Gers have finally benefited from a VAR call, with their winner also overturned after an initial offside decision.
- Read more: Nasser Djiga appalling, Tom English slams another Rangers player in incident vs Livingston
Three penalty calls that didn’t go Rangers’ way
Rangers have felt robbed by match officials in the past, and to an extent, it’s easy to understand the outrage.
One of their more recent robberies came during the defeat to Celtic on penalties in the Premier Sports Cup final in 2024.
- Valclav Cerny was pulled down by Liam Scales in extra time
- Referee John Beaton awarded a free-kick
- Scottish FA head of refereeing Willie Collum admitted Rangers should’ve been awarded a penalty
This followed an earlier incident in May 2024, where Nico Raskin was deemed to have fouled Joe Hart against Celtic in the Scottish Cup final. This disallowed what most believed should’ve been a goal.
Unsurprisingly, Rangers found themselves in the middle of controversy once again in a 2-1 defeat to their rivals in 2023.
There was a handball by Alistair Johnston, but Rangers were denied a penalty due to Abdallah Sima, the man who put Johnston under pressure, apparently being offside.
This sparked huge confusion among the Gers camp, who even asked for VAR audio to better understand why no penalty had been awarded.
At last, this latest twist has seen Rangers finally benefit, especially after the latest drama against Celtic at Hampden Park.
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