Rangers have been dealt an almighty blow at this early stage of the season as Dynamo Kiev knock them out of the Champions League at the third qualifying stage.
Philippe Clement was clear heading into the second leg clash at Hampden that the financial benefits of the Champions League would ‘make the story go faster’ at the club.
But it wasn’t to be for the Ibrox side as a controversial second half Jefte red card eventually told and Dynamo Kiev ruthlessly dispatched Rangers 2-0 in the final 10 minutes.
It was a moment which has drew the furious ire of Philippe Clement come full time and the Rangers manager has been joined by club legend Allan McGregor come the final whistle.
Allan McGregor reacts to referee call
Jefte was shown a soft second yellow card by referee Marco Guida after going up for a header against Dynamo Kiev midfielder Oleksandrovych Karavaev.
The Brazilian had been booked in the first half for a late tackle on the halfway line but had appeared to rise high to win the ball outside the Dynamo Kiev box.
But after the Ukrainian star went down grabbing his face, Karavaev was rewarded for the play acting by the Italian whistler, who made a series of dubious refereeing decisions throughout the match.
The referee’s performance has drawn the ire of Rangers legend Allan McGregor, who reckons Guida’s performance was that bad he should never manage a match in the Champions League again.
“The decision is that bad that I think the referee shouldn’t manage in the Champions League again,” McGregor said in BBC Sport’s live coverage of the match.
Later McGregor added: “Because he’s jumped that high, he gets booked for it? It’s madness. It’s not harsh, it’s horrific.”
Rangers dealt Dynamo Kiev blow
The moment the red card was shown to Jefte you could almost hear a collective gulp from the Rangers support.
The match against Dynamo Kiev was high intensity and at this stage of the season, to lose a player on the pitch was always likely to prove fatal.
Rangers were immediately up against it from that moment and despite huffing and puffing in the match were eventually caught cold by the Ukrainians.
Oleksandr Pikhalyonok cut inside from the right before firing low past Jack Butland, hitting a daisy cutter into the scrambling Rangers goalkeeper’s near post.
Nazar Voloshyn then added a second after Rangers were caught at the top end of the pitch, the Dynamo substitute’s fresh legs telling as the Ibrox defence scrambled at Hampden.
A devastating night for Rangers didn’t begin and end with the Dynamo Kiev goals either after Ridvan Yilmaz was stretched off with the scoreline at 1-0.
The Turkish left-back had attempted to fire a shot on target before it was blocked by a Dynamo defender.
Rangers also miss out on a guaranteed £3.7m parachute payment for playing in the Champions League Playoff.
Rangers will now move into the Europa League instead of the Champions League, meaning the club miss out on the some £30m which comes with qualification for European football’s elite tournament.
