Stand-in Rangers captain Nicolas Raskin learned lessons about MOANING at referees in the wake of the Premier Sports Cup final defeat to Celtic.
That is the view of former Ibrox skipper Barry Ferguson and Hoops’ hero Peter Grant after the Belgian midfielder didn’t hold back on referee Don Robertson throughout the 90 minutes of their 3-0 win over Brendan Rodgers’ side – and even in his post-match interview. Temperatures spiked inside the Ibrox cauldron after Raskin confronted Celtic captain Callum McGregor following the half-time whistle.
The pair were seen grabbing each other by their jerseys before Raskin was held back by team-mate Vaclav Cerny with the man in the middle Robertson opting to dish out a yellow card to Raskin. However, McGregor – who was already on a booking – avoid punishment.
Raskin was seen raging at whistler Robertson as the teams trudged off the park – and his fury didn’t stop there. Following the full-time whistle he unleashed on the ref and claimed he had avoided booking McGregor after remembering the Celtic captain was on a yellow card. It was a noticeable difference from the Hampden showpiece – where the Rangers players faced criticism for not remonstrating with referee John Beaton over the decision by VAR to not award a penalty in injury-time.
Asked about Raskin’s perceived “moaning” at the official and his post match tirade, Ferguson told the Go Radio Football Show: ‘You have to do that! People used to criticise me for it, but you have to. Referees probably said I was an absolute pest.”
Grant added: “I think they realised that everyone after the final was talking about that they didn’t go to the referee. Nobody claimed, they have obviously realised that.”
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