Soccer Football - Scottish Premiership - Celtic v Rangers - Celtic Park, Glasgow, Scotland, Britain - December 30, 2023 Rangers manager Philippe Clement remonstrates with the referee Nick Walsh after the match Action Images via Reuters/Craig Brough
It’s Statement O’Clock at Ibrox after Celtic won the Glasgow Derby to go eight points clear at the top of the SPFL Premiership table.
Questioned at their AGM earlier this month Ibrox Chairman John Bennett told angry bears that they would never become Statement FC as they lobbied behind the scenes at the SFA over refereeing issues.
That stance seems to have changed with Ibrox fans, led by Kris Boyd, fuming at the decision not to award a penalty when Alistair Johnston handled the ball in front of an offside Abdallah Sima.
Philippe Clement was booked for his reaction to that incident, as bears fumed over Nick Walsh, Willie Collum and VAR the Ibrox PR machine decided to tell The Sun of their anger and demand for answers:
Rangers have asked the Scottish FA to make the VAR audio available to the club to understand why no penalty was awarded despite a clear hand ball by Celtic’s Alistair Johnston.Â
The club is keen to understand the process that led to that decision being made as it was not made public at the time, nor communicated to our team.Â
We also understand Sky, as the league’s official broadcaster, is deeply unhappy and confused with the situation.Â
Their panel spent half-time in agreement Rangers should have been awarded a penalty, unaware of any offside check.Â
Again, this only surfaced in the second half. Rangers remains advocates of VAR, but there must be significantly more transparency for it to be successful in Scotland.
Fans of every club in Scotland would love to have disclosure of VAR conversations that has seen one club go 74 SPFL matches without having a penalty awarded against them.
Sure, when the SFA is at it, can they also release the tapes from the League Cup final and from Rangers-Motherwell?
Why Aberdeen or Motherwell didn’t get their penalties.
Maybe the same when our guy got fouled and they gave offside…which wisnae.
As it is the season of goodwill, maybe we should take the high ground?
Perhaps our club could issue its own statement to say that,
on reflection, yes, sevco should have had a penalty,
as it was Christmas just the other day.
But, unfortunately, it just wasn’t awarded. Oh dear.
Obviously, the 3 points remains with CFC and cannot be contested.
It’s not as though we fielded ineligible, incorrectly registered players…?
[with a GIRUY as a sign-off 🙂 ].
Bloody Hell – We all know that they’re very sick…
But today they’re Penalty Sick –
So should we be as well…
C’mon Pistol Pete – Where’s our Penalty Statement !
“…there must be significantly more transparency for (VAR) to be successful in Scotland.”
Be careful what you wish for; you may get it!
Bring on the microphones, the text of which should be available under the Freedom of Information Act or Subject Access Request to concerned parties.
Who gives a f**k what the broadcaster thinks !!! There is a faux pas of the highest order right there and more to that than meets the eye.
Really the who edifice of Scottish football is rank and needs brought down from the outside by good investigative journalisim al la the panama papers.
Only three words come to mind reading their statement ‘Ha ha ha’.
We win when it matters in this fixture.
Hail Hail ?
What a shower of deluded idiots 2012 are,the rules are play continues until the ball goes out of play,whether it be in the net or over any line then if necessary the linesman puts his flag up,tell them to watch old highlights on rangerscene(sportscene)and then THEY/THEM,maybe understand,if this was for against THEM,instead of a properly run respectful football club,you wouldn’t have this nonsense.
He was offside let it go!