Hibs penalty disputed as Rangers boss deploys distraction tactics after Light Blues blow lead TWICE in draw

Rangers boss Philippe Clement sought to distract from his own team’s shortcomings by pointing fingers at officials over the penalty award that “created momentum for Hibs” in today’s pulsating 3-3 draw at Easter Road. And the Light Blues manager insists he’s “curious” to see if head of referees Willie Collum makes mention of the incident in his regular review of key match incidents.

Clement, who saw his team blow a 2-0 lead and then throw away a 3-2 advantage inside the final ten minutes of today’s high noon kick off, was annoyed to see referee John Beaton point to the spot as Josh Campbell was brought down by Ianis Hagi inside the box. Martin Boyle scored his second goal of the game from the spot to tie the contest up at 2-2.

The Belgian gaffer said: “The penalty situation I don't understand. It's a situation with a small collision between two players on top speed, where even the attacking players gets Ianis down by getting his legs from behind.

“Giving penalties like this, then you need to ask players with every contact to go down, which I don't want. That's not how you want football to be played.

“That was a very important moment in the game, because you create momentum for Hibs. We were leading, we were dominant on the ball, we didn't score the third goal, which would have made the difference.

“Yes, I asked the referees why they see it's a penalty, because I need to explain that also to my players. That's an important thing. We don't agree for the moment.

“In that way, we will see how the panel and Willie Collum will say about that. So I'm curious, because if these things will be a penalty, then there will be a lot of penalties this season and the year to come in Scotland, I think.”