It was a comfortable night in the end for Rangers as they beat FCSB 4-0.
But it could have been another Europa League let down if a soft early foul against Jack Butland hadn’t been given. The Rangers keeper took an age with the ball at his feet in the opening minutes and David Miculescu robbed him of possession and rolled into an empty net to leave Ibrox stunned.
However, the Englishman was saved by the whistle of Marco Di Bello, who pulled the Romanian up for a foul on butland. Replays showed minimal contact, with a floundering Butland attempting to haul the Steaua striker down as he fell in a bid to salvage the situation. The officials did that for him, then his teammates took full advantage as Tom Lawrence‘s opener before a Vaclav Cerny double and Hamza Igamane’s first goal for the club ensured an easier night than it may have been had Butland been punished.
Here’s how the pundits saw it.
Ally McCoist
“I think he has given a free-kick and I am not sure it is. First thing you have got to say, far too many touches. I’ll tell you what, he’s got away with one there, Jack Butland. Two heavy touches, it’s simply not a free-kick, it’s as simple as that. It’s a goal. Miculescu in my opinion doesn’t do anything wrong, in fact he does just about everything right. See if Butland is thinking that (he;ll get a free-kick), he is the luckiest man on the planet, for me.”
Alan Hutton
“My first thought was that if this was in the middle of the pitch, it probably wouldn’t have been a foul. I think Butland is taking his time over it. I’m not sure. I think he gets away with one there.”
Derek McInnes
“You know something? It’s one of these ones that if that had gone the other way, just with the nature of the game, it could be so different. I think Rangers got away with one there and jack butland should maybe just get it shifted right away. But they’ve got away with one and they;ce capitalised on it.
Neil McCann
“I do not think there is a foul there. He gets totally caught in two minds. Butland takes it onto his weaker side. And he takes a big touch, then another. That is never a foul.”
However, after another look, McCann changed his tune: “Actually, it is a foul. It’s an unbelievably good decision. He does, Miculescu puts his left foot out, and I thought he kicked the ball – but he catches Butland’s boot and it goes back towards the goal. It’s a really good decision . There was one replay right at the death that was super slow, and it’s an incredibly good decision, it looks like.”
Steven Thompson
“Right from the very first whistle, Rangers were at it. There is a hunger there. There had to be given the performance on Sunday, which was so flat.
“That is the level. As a team, they have to find that level every time they take to the pitch. There are no excuses for dropping your levels. But that’s been the one problem with this team, they drop their levels too often.
“What I would counter it with slightly is that the opposition are playing really badly. But you can only play what is in front of you.”