Rangers battered Kilmarnock and the only unjust event was that the home side didn’t come away with a more handsome scoreline.
This hasn’t stopped Killie’s new gaffer, Tommy Wright, from suggesting that Rangers befitted from some dubious officiating despite several of his players being allowed multiple yellow card fouls before going into the ref’s book, a clear penalty for James Tavernier denied and a goal being disallowed for the same player when replays showed him to be onside.
Wright, when asked about the spectacular winner from Ryan Jack, as reported by The Daily Record, he said:
“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.
And on the “stonewall” penalty that has sent Celtic fans into meltdown, he added:
“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.”
Don Robertson got very little right today as the man with the whistle, the easiest of yellow card decisions – pulling players back/late tackles that stopped attacks – were, grudgingly, given as free-kicks only and the foul on Tavernier, when he just had to put his laces through the ball to open the scoring, that it ranks as one of the worst of the season – and that’s saying something – especially from a whistler who gave a spot-kick for Greg Taylor tripping on his own laces the other night.
the same ref who gave a penalty during the week for no contact 🙄 pic.twitter.com/7puf6Ubpjk
— RED WHITE AND BLUE (@_R_W_B_) February 13, 2021
It’s a sorry state of affairs when you are hoping that some of the men tasked with officiating in the SPFL are “just” incompetent, however, sometimes, it doesn’t half make you think and today was one of those days, but not in the way that Wright is complaining about.