Rangers to ‘demand answers’ from SFA over controversial referee decision in Celtic defeat

Rangers will contact the Scottish FA to seek clarity over Kemar Roofe’s disallowed goal during Sunday’s 1-0 defeat to Celtic in the first Old Firm derby of the season.

The Ibrox side have been left “bemused” by referee Don Robertson’s decision to rule out the striker’s first half goal at Ibrox after VAR intervened to call the referee over for a second look at an incident in the build-up involving Cyriel Dessers and Hoops defender Gustaf Lagerbielke.

Dessers had raced in to try and rob the Swedish centre-back of possession and after watching several replays, Robertson ruled that the Gers frontman had commited a foul and ruled out Roofe’s composed finish, much to the disbelief of the Rangers players and fans.

The Light Blues now want an explanation, with the Glasgow Time reporting the club will ‘reach out’ to Scottish FA head of referee operations Crawford Allan to request answers behind why the match officials reached the verdict that it was a free-kick to Celtic.

The governing body has recently created a VAR review panel to help with understanding key decision-making after the technology was introduced in the top-flight last year. However, the panel will only meet at certain points within the season and will not make rulings on individual decisions after games.

Kyogo Furuhashi scored the match-winner for Brendan Rodgers’ defending champions, who will now head into the international break sitting top of the table and four points clear of their rivals after just four rounds of fixtures.

In the aftermath of the game, several pundits and former referees have been divided on the incident, with ex-Premier League whistler Dermot Gallagher insisting there was no foul, while other such as Bobby Madden claim it was the right decision with Lagerbielke tripped as he attempt to play the ball back to his goalkeeper.

Speaking after the game, Rangers boss Michael Beale stated: “The VAR decision I’m not sure about because I think that Cyriel puts his foot down and the boy actually kicks him. I think he’s a lucky boy, so I’m disappointed that goes against us. Having said that, there’s a lot of football to be played afterwards.”

Rangers also had a goal inside the first minute chopped off for offside and were unable to find an equaliser in the second half.