The outpouring of moaning and complaining since Saturday has been ridiculous, if not predictable, from the media and ‘pundits’ alike. I said in the last blog that it was a certainty to come and what is infuriating is the one sided nature of it all.
Make no mistake, Hibernian could have been given an indirect free kick on Saturday for a high boot from Ianis Hagi, if a lesser referee had buckled to the shouts of the Hibs players.
That’s all it could have been. The grief and headlines since have been woeful in that those who get paid to write and commentate on such events are not aware of the laws of the game. This is before we even get to the fact that Hagi was no where Near Hibs player Newell’s face and this was demonstrated by fact player received no treatment for this ‘dangerous’ high boot.
That’s led to some one sided reporting since and the ironic thing is that when Rangers were punished by poor officiating at Easter Road we were told we should have defended the situation better anyway, not to mention the fact we had our own strong claims waved away versus Hibs on Saturday!
So let’s look at these twenty league games before we take a look at Jim Goodwin’s ridiculous claims from yesterday’s press conference.
Of those twenty games only FIVE goals have been conceded, two against against Hibs at Easter Road, two separately to Motherwell home and away, with the other coming at Dundee United. So only FOUR games we have conceded in.
Of these twenty games, analysis shows that there has only been ONE legitimate penalty claim not given which was at Motherwell when Kamara arguably nudged his opponent in the back whilst defending a bouncing ball. Forget the Hibs claim as it wasn’t even a legitimate claim in the laws of the game.
So that’s ONE questionable decision in twenty games. ONE.
The reason that is so few is because teams have to get near our box and our goal, which many have failed to do. For all the apparent dominance of Hibs last Saturday they registered just one shot on target and didn’t win a single chance or even half chance from their supposed second half moral victory. Rangers missed four clear opportunities.
So Jim Goodwin’s comments look absolutely ridiculous and I’m sure the governing bodies will be looking at them for bringing the game into disrepute. No I’m sure they will, they are very fair with these things, no honestly they are.
What’s even worse is St Mirren DID get awarded a spot kick in our cup game for a legitimate foul by Calvin Bassey. Not once did we complain or moan about it either.
Further to that Rangers were denied a stonewall penalty on Ryan Kent for a foul that was given as a free kick, which we subsequently scored from anyway.
Indeed that takes us to the title of this article where referee’s must block out the narrative being set and ensure we are officiated properly. Rangers must get the decisions and the whistlers must ensure these claims don’t become the narrative for them during matches.
Our games have been littered with incidents and small claims but on the whole fairly well officiated. We have suffered one poor offside decision, one we took and made very little noise about. We have benefited from one small shout at Motherwell and one shout with Alfredo Morelos at Tannadice when he was given a retrospective red card.
Two incidents in twenty games. Look back on our games, the Dundee United and St Johnstone games at home for example, you will see plenty of questionable decisions we did not get. What you won’t hear is moaning from our management.
As for penalties given for us, last season we had just three, less than most of the league teams. This year we have six which is the same as Celtic and less than Aberdeen. The lower percentage of all three clubs actually.
It is no surprise that in the week leading up to a vital Old Firm game that our club is targeted with such a narrative, Goodwin’s allegiances are well known after all. The media certainly don’t enjoy the current standings and are desperate for us to slip up also.
The officials must ensure this doesn’t effect how they officiate Rangers on the brink of a crucial period in our season.
There is no conspiracy and there is only one real issue for everyone complaining.
That is the fact Rangers are top of the league and doing relatively well. That is the real issue here.
Ask yourself if there was such an outcry in previous years when we were well behind?
Keep going Rangers, keep kicking on as it will only sicken them more.
Four Lads Had A Dream 