Rangers fans explode at ‘farcical’ penalty snub after Dujon Sterling handball verdict

Rangers supporters have reacted with fury to the “laughable” decision not to award a penalty for an Alex Gogic handball during Sunday’s 1-0 win over St Mirren.

Danny Rohl’s side edged to a crucial victory at Paisley, after their bitter rivals Celtic had closed the gap to Hearts at the top of the Scottish Premiership table with their win on Saturday.

The Gers were once again unable to put daylight between themselves and one of the division’s struggling teams, as Tuur Rommens’ first-half volley ended as the only goal of the game.

Rangers’ victory over St Mirren was just their second win against the Saints in their last six meetings in all competitions, but their supporters were still left frustrated despite the positive outcome.

Rangers fans explode over Alex Gogic handball

Rangers were in uproar in just the 12th minute of the game, as referee Steven McLean waved away strong appeals for a penalty following a corner from the visitors.

Nicolas Raskin met the delivery in the air and guided his header towards goal, only to see it blocked at source by the arm of St Mirren centre-back Alex Gogic.

The Cypriot had little time to react to the incident, but did have his arm firmly outside the line of his body.

However, McLean was unmoved by the Gers’ appeals, and the VAR team also decided that he had been correct in his view of the incident after a brief review.

That has provided plenty of frustration for the Rangers fans, who are convinced that they are continuously falling victim to poor officiating decisions.

Fans took to X to share their anger towards the decision, with the Four Lads Had A Dream podcast even labelling the call as “absolutely laughable.”

Several supporters were also quick to point out that there was little difference between this incident and the penalty that was given against Dujon Sterling in the dying stages of the 2-2 draw with Celtic on 1 March.

• @JE55GRY: “Given what they do give penalties for these days, it’s a stonewall penalty.”
• @Ibrox____: “Its beyond farcical. At the very least, that surely requires the ref to look at it again.”
• @broony_10: “It’s beyond a joke now. It is blatant cheating by the officials, absolutely blatant.”

Steve McLean makes second big error in Rangers’ win vs St Mirren

Football Insider paid close attention to the referee’s performance in Rangers’ win vs St Mirren on Sunday, and it became clear that McLean made some questionable calls in the big moments of the game.

Rangers were frustrated that they weren’t awarded a penalty, and just minutes later they could have gained a numerical advantage.

Jacob Devaney launched into a challenge on Youssef Chermiti on the edge of the visitors’ box, and while it appeared to be relatively innocuous at the time, replays showed that he planted his studs into the striker’s ankle.

McLean immediately whistled the play dead and awarded a free-kick to Rohl’s side, but he didn’t view the challenge of being of further punishment.

However, it was easily a tackle that was deserving of a yellow card for the St Mirren man, and potentially even a red, given the angle with which he made contact with Chermiti.

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