Philippe Clement has broken his silence on Willie Collum’s assessment of the Rangers penalty that never was.
Vaclav Cerny should have had a clear spot-kick in Sunday’s Premier Sports Cup Final vs Celtic with Liam Scales tugging his jersey while inside the box.
It was a stonewaller for Gers which, despite VAR being in play, was not given in the biggest game of the season so far.
Referee chief Collum admitted the VAR team got it wrong as he came out in the Scottish FA’s VAR Review show to slaughter the “unacceptable” decision made in the technology truck.
- READ MORE: ‘I wonder why?’… Rangers fan media target Willie Collum after referee chief makes VAR team claim
Fans and pundits alike could see it was a penalty and even Michael Stewart branded the decision a ‘no-brainer’.
And yet it went by as a free-kick instead.
Rangers criticised the penalty call and insisted it was damaging for the credibility of Scottish football.
Yet while fans were furious and even raged at the club’s “pathetic” statement on the matter, Clement has now spoken on the explanation Collum gave on the incident.
Philippe Clement accepted Collum’s ‘transparency’
The boss explained how he appreciated the transparency but that more must be done to educate the officials in this country.
“Players, staff, fans, everyone was hurt after the match,” Clement said.
“It’s hard because after the game you feel the rules aren’t followed. There can be a grey area in decision-making, that was not the case.
“It’s good there was transparency from Willie Collum. He was really clear about it. It doesn’t help in the end for the result because it was a game deciding moment.
“Everyone in the club hopes everyone at the top of the SFA has that ambition like Willie to make things better. It’s for all of Scottish football.”
What Clement said about Rangers vs Dundee this weekend
Clement chose to draw a line under the matter and instead now focus on Dundee at home tomorrow afternoon.
And previewing the action, the Belgian demanded attention from his squad.
He said: “For us, it is now really important to focus on a very important game against Dundee,” said Clement.
“We need to focus on what we have been doing, and to get the three points against Dundee.”
