In his latest RecordSport column, Chris Sutton has weighed in on the ongoing controversy surrounding Rangers’ meltdown after their defeat to Celtic, offering a no-holds-barred take on the club’s reaction to the officiating.
Sutton didn’t hesitate to describe the situation as a deflection from Rangers’ own shortcomings.
“For me it was a blame game, a deflection tactic, after they fell short in another big match against Celtic. It’s blame Willie Collum, blame everyone else and take very little responsibility over the things that they can control,” Sutton wrote, directly criticising the club’s approach to dealing with defeat.
Sutton also addressed the contentious penalty decision, saying, “The decision not to award Rangers a penalty was the correct decision however they got to it and the handball by Alistair Johnston was totally irrelevant.” He questioned the club’s focus on the handball incident, asking, “What is the merit in having a pointless argument over was it or was it not handball? Rangers were not wronged so what are they moaning about?”
Highlighting the broader implications of the incident, Sutton pointed out an intriguing statistic: “It’s been a strange old week and some may want to bring greater scrutiny on how it’s taken the best part of two years for Rangers to have a Premiership penalty awarded against them but we didn’t see any statements or bafflement on that astonishing stat.”
Chris is spot on, Rangers were never in line for a penalty, and the prolonged frustration and outcry from their club and fanbase have resulted in what he terms a “large scale meltdown.”
We hope the outcome of this whole sorry saga is the SFA and officials becoming more transparent. While they got the calls right last weekend, the murky waters around the SFA and the secrecy of decision making should all be addressed to ensure nobody can fill the void left by a lack of transparency.
