Philippe Clement revealed his phone exploded with messages over Sunday’s Premier Sports Cup final flashpoint. Well the Rangers boss should have tried manning the Hotline.
Angry Bears were lining up to put the boot into the officials for their performance in the 3-3 humdinger at Hampden. The VAR team led by Alan Muir failing to intervene when Liam Scales grabbed a hold of Vaclav Cerny’s jersey on the Celtic 18-yard line was top of the agenda.
And John Stewart, Newton Mearns, blasted: “Once again Celtic were helped out by the officials on the park and VAR off the park. The help they got last year in every Old Firm game was a disgrace and, sad to say, it looks like it’s going to continue this season. Missing the penalty on Cerny was unforgivable but no doubt it will be put down as an honest mistake.”
Irwin Houston, Giffnock, added: “Rangers were cheated out of a penalty. IFAB rules states that this should have happened. Incompetent officials denied the better team on the day a 100 per cent penalty. Hang your heads in shame.”
And Jimmy Mac, Glasgow, said: “When will it stop? The amount of Rangers disallowed goals and legitimate penalties denied by incompetent or biased officials is disgraceful. That’s not the first time Alan Muir has been involved in denying Rangers a legitimate goal or penalty against Celtic either. I’ve been stating for years when Rangers play Celtic there should be foreign officials brought in as the SFA cannot provide either competent or unbiased officials.”
But Charles Maxwell reckons it was actually Celtic who were the victims of poor officiating. He emailed: “The officials had a terrible cup final. How on earth was Leon Balogun not sent off for the blatant kick at Cameron Carter-Vickers? It was bad enough for a straight red, never mind the fact he was already on a yellow card.” And Sean McGarvey, Cumbernauld, added: “After a toe to toe cracker of a final Philippe Clement has repeatedly complained about a borderline decision! Take defeat with a bit of grace Phil. You’re embarrassing yourself with your nonsense. Always cheated never defeated.”
Billy Barry, Dundee, said: “So ‘Mr Excuses’ is at it again with his selective memory. He was bemoaning the fact that his team should have had a penalty against Celtic for a foul on Vaclav Cerny.
“Strange though that he ‘forgot’ to mention the penalty Aberdeen should have had in the dying seconds of last season’s League Cup final that VAR didn’t even check. His excuses are absolutely comical.”
Celtic edged a final for the ages on penalty kicks after they were made to sweat by a Rangers side that are beginning to show signs of life after a rotten start to the season. However, Joe Hailey, Baillieston, said: “Rangers fans now claim they’re a match for us, but you can’t gauge that after a single game. Especially when the winners played so badly. We had an off-day, but still won. The end.”
Robert McEwan, Mount Vernon, said: “We made it hard for ourselves but we got the required result in the end. We were not at our best but the cup’s in the bag and the Treble’s on.” Lance Little, Erskine, added: “Even when Celtic are poor we are more than enough for a team like the Rangers. We mucked about today and still ended up winning a cup. We still don’t see them coming.”
And Stephen Mulhern, Dumbarton, said: “The fact that Rangers brought their Spurs form to Hampden and still couldn’t get the job done speaks volumes for Celtic reclaiming the trophy. I was also delighted to see Arne Engels come off the bench and assist in Khun’s goal before holding his nerve in the penalty shootout.”
Michael O’Leary, Glasgow, said: “Chris Lowe was praising Hamza Igamane for battering goals in against top English and French clubs. What a pity he couldn’t find the net against a below par Scottish team.” On the other hand, Gordon Hendry, Ochiltree, argued: “As a Rangers supporter there is no question in my mind that had John Souttar played Rangers would have won this game comfortably. Robin Propper is a liability and cost Rangers dearly in this game as did his midfield buddy Nicolas Raskin. Roll on the return at Ibrox when we get the chance to turn the tables and get the result we deserve.”
Dr Robert Pender was a voice of reason as he emailed: “A really good game to watch, credit to both teams. Let’s get rid of the hatred and accept the final outcome.” Finally, Cameron Hall, Edinburgh, called to take a pop at BOTH sides. He blasted; “Given that both Rangers and Celtic fans as usual completely ignored the SFA’s rules about pyro and sectarian singing during the League Cup Final I presume both will be heavily fined, and ideally docked points? Obviously, I won’t hold my breath.”