Michael Stewart accuses Rangers of attempting to ‘appease the masses’ but bemoans lack of SFA transparency

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According to Michael Stewart, the Rangers have been trying to “appease the masses” by trying to get Willie Collum pulled from all upcoming games.

When Nick Walsh wasn’t instructed to go to the screen to review the incident after Alistair Johnston handled the ball in the area under a challenge from Abdullah Sima during Collum’s VAR duties for the Old Firm derby last weekend, the Gers were furious because the Senegalese player was offside anyhow.

Before news surfaced that the Light Blues had asked Collum not to play in any of their upcoming games, Rangers issued a statement outlining a discussion with the SFA regarding the decision’s lack of openness. Stewart criticized the refereeing chiefs for their lack of transparency on the matter and stated that he believes they are only attempting to placate the fan base.

“That’s deniability, that’s what it is,” Stewart declared. There’s no doubt in my mind that they did that in private. To please the masses and give the impression that they are standing up, they have let it to be distributed.

“The SFA – there was an error, but it’s also a moot matter since, at its core, the correct judgment was taken in the incorrect manner. Although it was offside, so it wasn’t a penalty. However, I completely agree with Rangers that something needed to be done when it came to the investigation because it was handled so carelessly in an attempt to hide an error, so I can understand why they are upset.

“A lot of this would have been eliminated if the SFA had declared, as Steve [Conroy] did, that “see, there was a mistake made that was subjective but we feel that it probably should have been a penalty kick, but it couldn’t have been a penalty because it was offside.”