The Scottish Football Association’s KMI panel has ruled that Rangers F.C. should have been awarded a penalty in their clash with St Mirren F.C. after Alex Gogic handled the ball inside the area.
In its latest review, the panel voted 2-1 against referee Steven McLean’s decision not to give the spot-kick, also criticising VAR for failing to intervene. The incident occurred when a header from Nico Raskin struck Gogic’s arm, but appeals were waved away.
In the same fixture, the panel supported the decision to award Celtic F.C. a penalty after Emmanuel Longelo fouled Daizen Maeda. Although referee John Beaton initially ignored the incident, VAR official Kevin Clancy advised a review, leading to the correct decision being awarded and Longelo’s dismissal — a call the panel unanimously backed.
Former Rangers captain Barry Ferguson criticised the officiating standards, describing the decisions as “baffling” and below expectations.
Celtic went on to win 3-1, moving within two points of leaders Heart of Midlothian F.C., while Rangers secured a 1-0 victory thanks to a goal from Tuur Rommens, closing the gap at the top to three points.
Elsewhere, the panel agreed that Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was rightly shown a yellow card for his challenge on Motherwell F.C.’s Elijah Just, despite calls from manager Jens Berthel Askou for a red.
Another incident reviewed came from the Dundee derby, where referee Duncan Nicholson awarded Dundee United F.C. a penalty after Simon Murray was penalised for handball. The panel unanimously agreed with that decision.
Amar Fatah converted the penalty before Luca Stephenson added a second, but Dundee F.C. staged a dramatic late comeback, scoring twice in stoppage time to earn a draw.
Leave a Reply