Philippe Clement told 'geez peace' by pundit after Rangers press conference penalty demonstration

Rangers boss Philippe Clement debated with Nick Walsh at the end of the game.Rangers boss Philippe Clement debated with Nick Walsh at the end of the game.
Rangers boss Philippe Clement debated with Nick Walsh at the end of the game. | SNS Group
Rangers’ boss wasn’t happy with a handball against John Souttar.

A pundit has sent a blunt message to Philippe Clement over his Rangers penalty gripes.

Tom Lawrence netted in the first half to seal a 1-0 Premiership win for the Light Blues against Hibs. Goalkeeper Jack Butland played a key role in the game as he saved a penalty by Mykola Kukharevych to keep Rangers up by a goal.

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Clement took to different measures to question the call in his press conference, as he stood up to demonstrate why penalised defender John Souttar couldn’t naturally raise his leg to block without initially lifting his arms. That left him puzzled over why a penalty was awarded by referee Nick Walsh.

But Tam McManus wasn’t having it. The former Hibs player and pundit responded to a clip of the press conference by saying “On what planet is that not a penalty for Hibs? Geez peace.”

McManus added: “Rangers were there for the taking today for me. Unfortunately Hibs showed a real lack of quality & belief in the final 3rd. The penalty summed that up which was THE pivotal moment in the game. A lot of good performances defensively and in midfield from Hibs but final 3rd poor.”

Clement said of the penalty: “No, I totally don’t agree about the penalty decision. We had these discussions with the referee department before the season and it was really constructive, with almost all the managers there.

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“And you’ve seen a clear change in the first week of the season. There were several moments that there were no penalties given in situations where last year there was a penalty. This one is for me in that line. The ball comes and John wants to block the ball so he puts his leg up.

“Maybe I better stand up. Maybe I’m not as mobile as him, but he puts his leg up. You cannot put your leg up with your arms like that (behind the back), that’s impossible. So he puts his leg up so he needs to find balance. So his arms are like that (out) when he puts his leg up. And then he sees the arm is going to get contact and it’s too late.

“And his natural reflex is to make himself smaller, to put his arm in front of him. And from one metre, the ball hits him and his arm goes up like that. I want to ask them what a player can do different in that situation? It’s impossible. It’s biology, it’s bio-dynamics.

“I’ve seen good decisions in the last couple of weeks where the player’s arm was away from their body and it was not a penalty and it was also correct for me. It’s important that everybody understands and is aligned and that we can make the right decisions for the future.”

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