Furious Rangers fans take aim at SFA chief and demand action over 'bizarre' penalty call
12/18/2024 11:30 AM
Rangers fans have been left reeling after SFA chief executive Ian Maxwell tried to palm off a controversial penalty decision as 'human error'.
Head of refereeing Willie Collum has now reportedly confirmed to Rangers that the Ibrox side should've had a penalty in extra time of the Premier Sports Cup defeat to Celtic.
According to STV, Collum has now acknowledged that VAR's decision not to intervene after Liam Scales hauled Vaclav Cerny down at the edge of the Celtic box was the incorrect decision.
Celtic defender Liam Scales was yellow carded for the incident in the first half of extra time in the 3-3 draw, which Rangers eventually lost on penalty kicks defeat to the Parkhead side.
But Rangers have been left reeling after VAR officials Alan Muir and Frank Connor failed to intervene and review the incident on the park, despite the clear need for it to be examined at the time.
Rangers fans are furious that such incompetence has been palmed off in the wake of the League Cup Final defeat and the pressure is mounting on the SFA on social media.
SFA hold hands up over Rangers penalty
Ian Maxwell didn't give a specific view on the Rangers incident but did give an insight into the communication Willie Collum faces with clubs on a regular basis.
The SFA chief has also defended the use of VAR – which has repeatedly intervened on Celtic's behalf in recent Old Firm derbies – as pressure begins to mount.
"It's interesting that this is the first time I've been asked about VAR this season so there's definitely been an improvement," said Maxwell.
"We're being as transparent as we can do and more transparent than we've ever been in terms of the decisions being made and how they are made.
"That's helped people understand the narrative. It's not losing faith in VAR. There will be decisions across the season for every club that go for and against them. It will always be part of football and that will never change."
On the incident specifically, Maxwell said: "There's been dialogue with Rangers.
"There's dialogue with every club in the country on a Monday morning and as you can imagine, Willie Collum's phone is fairly busy.
"It's proper that we do that and there needs to be engagement. We're fortunate that since Willie came in we've got the VAR review show that's being filmed at the moment, we've got the Key Match Incident panel and they'll announce their view later this week.
"I'm sure the VAR review show will have an interesting spike in viewer figures. That will give everyone an understanding of the review of recent incidents and I'm sure that will be one of them."
Rangers fans in furious penalty response
Needless to say the tepid response has not gone down well amongst frustrated Rangers supporters.
Ibrox fans have been left devastated after the controversial decision directly led to Celtic being crowned the League Cup champions.
The VAR is literally in situ to review these decisions and the likes of ex-referees Bobby Madden and Mike McCurry have been critical of why a penalty kick was not given at Hampden.
The comments of Ian Maxwell have also not washed with Rangers fans, who're demanding more serious action is taken in the wake of admission.
Rangers fans are really not letting up with the pressure either, and it's not just on the SFA.
The Ibrox side want their club to represent them here and really put their foot down when it comes to this objectively terrible decision-making.
One fan says that Rangers 'better not accept' Maxwell and the SFA's explanation, a sentiment echoed by plenty online.
Many are pointing to a legal precedent in Belgium where a cup final was replayed in 2024 after it was found the match was refereed incorrectly.
Others are asking 'why even have VAR?' Especially if it is not going to take the time get these clear decisions correct.
The main argument used by frustrated supporters concerns the type of decision.
Football fans get frustrated when subjective decisions go against them; this is an objective call that should've been made in Rangers' favour.
One supporter claims the excuse doesn't wash because the decision is 'matter of fact'.
We don't expect the pressure to let up anytime soon with Rangers fans incensed and the Ibrox club yet to announce their next steps.
There are routes Rangers can go down to challenge this decision-making and palming it off as 'human error' is not going to cut it with frustrated supporters.
Rangers Review journalist and Rangers fan Derek Clark summed up the sentiment perfectly: "An apology from the SFA isn't going to cut it. It's gone way beyond that.
"We need to hear what will be done to avoid a similar embarrassment happening again.
"They've allowed a calamitous blunder to overshadow what was an engrossing game and besmirch the final outcome."