What should have happened after Rangers vs Livingston penalty incident as ex FIFA ref shares forensic insight
Referee Ryan Lee waved away a Rangers penalty claim when Mikey Moore was scythed down by Cammy Kerr
Former FIFA referee Keith Hackett has shared his confusing over the late penalty incident that occured during Rangers’ 2-2 Premiership draw with bottom side Livingston on Sunday.
Defender Cammy Kerr unfairly brought down Mikey Moore in stoppage time at Almondvale as Rangers hunted for a last-gasp winner after recovering from two goals down. VAR operator David Dickinson took a lengthy look at the footage, before referee Ryan Lee was told to let play continue.
It was adjudged that the point of contact was not inside the penalty area as new close-up footage emerged, and therefore the official could not award a free-kick and brandish a red card for the denial of a goalscoring opportunity.
Light Blues boss Danny Rohl was far from happy with the non-award which took six minutes to sort out amid uncertainty over the precise location of the contact, but he did accept his players shouldn’t have been relying on that flashpoint.
It was hotly debated by Sky Sports pundits as well. And speaking Ibrox News, Hackett was left scratching his head at the decision to not send off Kerr.
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He said: “This is a foul and it is difficult to understand why a red card has not been issued for the denial of an obvious goal scoring opportunity.
“Moore was in possession of the ball and about to get a shot off when the foul took place. The covering player, in my opinion, would not be in a position to take defensive action.
“VAR would have instead been checking out the position of the foul to determine if it had taken place on the penalty area line. It’s really difficult to understand why a red card was not shown here.”
Livi had already been reduced to 10 men earlier in the game whist leading 2-0 at the time as Cristian Montano was shown a red card for a last-man challenge on Djeidi Gassama.
Where Rangers stand after costly Livingston draw
The result meant Rangers have now gone three away games on the spin without recording a victory, and that is what could cost them the league title if they fail to catch leaders Hearts, who sit four points clear at the summit.
This was a backwards step for Rohl and his players, and the only silver lining was that arch rivals Celtic went down 2-1 at home to Hibs, meaning the Jambos were the big winners at the weekend having beaten Falkirk 1-0 on Saturday.