SHOCKING NEWS:Philippe Clement confirmed the suspension of two key players few minutes ago

Rangers defender Clinton Nsiala conceded a controversial penalty in the B side’s 3-2 victory against Clyde on Wednesday night [14 August].

The 20-year-old was adjudged to have caught a Clyde player with a high foot when attempting to clear the ball up the pitch, toward the end of the first half.

Four Lads Had A Dream described the decision as “remarkable” as Logan Dunachie converted the spot kick to give Clyde the lead going into the break.

David McCallum’s side completed the turnaround after the interval thanks to goals from Callum Burnside and Alexander Lowry who secured his side a place in the next round of the SPFL Trust Trophy with a 91st-minute winner.

Rangers on the end of another controversial refereeing decision

The standard of refereeing in football has seriously declined in the past 12 months as fans and players can’t understand the inconsistency in referees’ decision-making.

Rangers have been involved with two controversial decisions thus far in the 2024/25 campaign less than a fortnight after the restart.

Connor Barron escaped a penalty when a Yan Dhanda corner appeared to strike his hand in the penalty area in the opening Scottish Premiership match against Heart of Midlothian on 3 August with former FIFA referee Bobby Madden launching an attack on the Scottish Football Association [SFA] for the decision.

VAR has been accused of making referees “lazy” [The Mirror, 26 October 2023], leading to UEFA instructing for less intervention but, the damage has already been done.

There is no consistency in the decisions anymore and the decision to award a penalty against Rangers for Nsiala attempting to clear the ball from his penalty area is ludicrous.

The SFA should count themselves lucky that Rangers went on to win the tie or they could have been looking at an official complaint from the club, the standard has to be better at all levels of football.