Six days have now passed but Parkhead penalty-gate shows no sign of dying down on the Hotline.
The SFA returned fire on Rangers on Thursday and urged the Ibrox side to “show greater responsibility” after details of their private meeting at Hampden leaked out – most notably a request for Willie Collum to no longer referee their games. And Eddie Easson, Ballingry, said: “Is there no end to this referee debacle at Rangers? They are now putting officials at risk. They are putting fear into referees minds.
Peter Lyons, Blantyre, said: “Barry Ferguson has bought into the art of deflection along with countless other pundits. Let’s not talk about three magnificent goals, Dessers’ woeful miss or Clement’s substitutions – lets dismiss these and talk about the handball. It was the same at Ibrox.” And Paul McCormack, Coatbridge, added: “So Rangers now want to decide who doesn’t ref their games, really? Next they’ll be telling Celtic not to play Kyogo because the wee rascal keeps scoring against them.
Anthony Curran emailed: “Rangers fans are keeping quiet about the linesman failing to flag offside before the incident. This crazy rule to wait until the ball is out of play or whatever doesn’t only cause these frictions but also playing on after offside endangers players to injury. Offside should be flagged immediately it is recognised and it will stop these incidents.
Meanwhile, Paul Price, Glasgow, said: “If the SFA cannot deal with Rangers’ whinging then they should involve UEFA and FIFA to sort it out. I am sure Celtic can hand over a dossier for them scrutinise over the shenanigans that goes on in Scottish football. If Rangers have a problem with our match officials then let’s bring in foreigners with no affiliation to certain clubs.”
Neil Renton, Leith, added: “For years, non-Old Firm clubs have had to put up with baffling and unjust refereeing decisions when playing either Rangers or Celtic. Now Rangers aren’t happy about a penalty they never got that shouldn’t have been given anyway and the whole game grinds to a halt. I’m hoping they got some Brasso for Christmas to polish their brass necks.”
Unsurprisingly, Rangers fans reckon their club are within their rights to keep the pressure on the SFA. Alec Morrison, Buckie, said: “Folk fail to get the point in what Rangers are doing. Regardless of whether Sima was offside or not, the point is that Collum failed to see a clear handball and award a penalty. Yes it would’ve been offside, resulting in an indirect free kick not a goal kick. If this happened to Celtic and Rangers went on to win, would they honestly say ‘ach well it happens?’ Naw.”
And David Speirs, Coalhall, said: “It’s ridiculous that the SFA are blaming Rangers for putting referees in danger. Rangers are only fighting their corner. It was plain to see that they were cheated out of a penalty against Celtic. The fact that the referee wasn’t asked to look at the screen tells it all. The transparency from the SFA is as clear as fog.”
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