Rangers manager Michael Beale admits he was wrong to claim Jota's goal should have been disallowed; he has condemned the abuse referee Kevin Clancy received after their Old Firm defeat
Saturday 15 April 2023 13:14, UK
Michael Beale condemned the abuse referee Kevin Clancy received after last week's Old Firm defeat as he admitted incorrectly protesting one of the Celtic's goals.
The Rangers boss felt they were on the wrong end of two key decisions in the 3-2 defeat at Parkhead which all but settled the destination of the Scottish Premiership.
Striker Alfredo Morelos had a 'goal' chalked off after Clancy judged that Hoops defender Alastair Johnston had been fouled in a tussle between the two players.
Then, at 1-1, Kyogo Furuhashi drove in his second for the home side, with Beale claiming the ball came off the arm of Jota beforehand.
Rangers subsequently wrote to the Scottish Football Association seeking an explanation for Morelos' disallowed strike before it was revealed police had been called in to deal with a "significant volume of threatening and abusive emails" to Clancy.
Beale said: "I haven't (spoken to Crawford Allan, head of referee operations at the SFA). I have in the past but not this week and I wasn't involved in the asking of questions.
"To me, the game was done. I disagree with one decision, I got it wrong on another because on the angle I saw I thought it hit the boy's arm.
"It hadn't so fair play, but I still think the first decision was the wrong one. It is up for debate but the game has gone. We are not going to be able to change the result of the game.
"I don't know the facts, but if Kevin has been getting abuse, it is not something that we accept in football and it is something as a club that we condemn and we are not happy with.
"Whoever the referee is, in whatever game around the world, it is a difficult job as it is. On the day the referee makes the decisions that he sees.
"I happen to think in that moment it was a wrong decision, but across the whole game you can't count too many decisions that were up for debate. Just that one moment and it had an impact.
"In every big derby, and certainly this one, it drags on for days and days and we have to be careful with that.
"It was a good game. Unfortunately we came off second best. I am disappointed with that more than anything else."
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