Referee Don Robertson told Kilmarnock players that he refused to award them a foul on the edge of the penalty box late on in today’s 1-0 defeat at Ibrox.
The incident had Dave MacKinnon describing it as a stonewall penalty on Kilmarnock TV after Leon Balogun bundled Daniel Whitehall over at the corner of the penalty box.
After 28 games without Steven Gerrard’s men conceding a penalty Robertson clearly didn’t want to point to the spot with his worries extending to avoiding awarding a free kick in a very threatening position.
Kilmarnock are now one point above bottom place with Hamilton Accies and Ross County having played less matches, every point is vital for the Ayrshire side.
Discussing Robertson after the match Tommy Wright told the Daily Record:
From ground level, it looked like a penalty kick all day long but I’ve seen it back, slowed down and it’s just outside the box so somehow he got to the right decision. But he’s told our players it was a foul, but not a penalty. So I’m still trying to work that one out.
Reflecting on the only goal of the game Wright explained:
I was disappointed with their goal on two fronts. Firstly, we should have cleared our lines better from their free-kick. And secondly, it was a handball. After a header in the box it hits a Rangers player’s hand. The official should see that. It was a great finish from Jack, we can’t do anything about that.
Kemar Roofe and Alfredo Morelos missed today’s match due to retrospective suspensions from the SFA.