A Rangers v Celtic match rarely goes by without penalty controversy, and some Ibrox fans are adamant the club should’ve had a penalty in the League Cup Final defeat at Hampden.
Replays appear to show Celtic defender Cameron Carter-Vickers hauling at the shirt of Connor Goldson as James Tavernier whips a first-half corner into the box at Hampden.
You can clearly see the USA international has a hold of the Rangers centre-back’s jersey as he wins the header from a corner and it’s sparked something of a debate amongst Ibrox supporters.
Whilst no-one is trying to take away from what was an awful Rangers performance, this incident with the score 0-0 is clearly an interesting one and raises a few questions.
Did Rangers have penalty shout v Celtic?
Rangers were awarded a penalty in similar circumstances just a few weeks ago when Livingston defender James Penrice was found guilty of tugging Alfredo Morelos’ shirt after a VAR review.
Whilst for many that decision was harsh, the rules of shirt-tugging dictate that the defender gave the referee a decision to make but it’s interesting the same rules weren’t applied here.
Rangers and Nikola Katic were also infamously punished in a 2-1 victory at Celtic Park in 2019, the Croatian being adjudged to have pulled Chris Jullien’s shirt.
It means Cameron Carter-Vickers can count himself very lucky to have avoided giving away a penalty here but it does raise from serious questions amongst Rangers and Celtic fans.
Not only would this decision have been completely merited, but it might’ve changed the game, whilst you can bet we’d have been subjected to reams of coverage had the roles been reversed.
The world’s worst conspiracy continues as Celtic get the benefit of the doubt at Hampden and Rangers come up short once again against their Old Firm rivals.
There can be no doubts that Rangers were second best on the day and there’s a frustrated feeling around Ibrox with Sunday’s abject showing surely the final straw for many.
Meanwhile, the signing of John Souttar has been emblematic of the problems facing Rangers this season.
