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The National (Scotland)
The National (Scotland)
Sport
Ewan Paton

Rangers 'astonished' by SFA's Alfredo Morelos 'correct decision' response

Rangers say they are "astonished" to learn the Scottish FA believes the decision to disallow Alfredo Morelos' goal against Celtic was correct.

The Colombian thought he'd opened the scoring in the Old Firm derby on Saturday around the 20th-minute mark. 

The striker poked the ball home from a James Tavernier corner after a tussle with Celtic's Alistair Johnston. 

However, as the 26-year-old wheeled away to celebrate at Parkhead, referee Kevin Clancy sounded his whistle and awarded the Hoops a free-kick for the incident. 

VAR checked the situation, with Nick Walsh eventually concurring with the on-field decision. 

Rangers were left furious about the call in the aftermath of the game, as they wrote to the refereeing department at the SFA seeking clarification on the decision-making process about the no-goal.

It was revealed by the governing body earlier today that they had issued a response to Rangers regarding the matter.

Now, the Ibrox club states they cannot believe the outcome, as they pointed to an apology issued to Brighton by the PGMOL at the weekend following VAR controversy in the Premier League.

A Rangers spokesperson said: “Firstly, Rangers condemns in the strongest terms any abuse of match officials. We are all passionate about our game but targeted, personal abuse of referees cannot be tolerated.

“The club can confirm the Scottish FA has responded with regards to the disallowed Alfredo Morelos goal, with the response claiming the correct decision was taken.

"The club is astonished by this, especially given most observers, including former referees and former players, could see no issue with the goal standing.

“This comes following a weekend in England where PGMOL have offered an apology to Brighton and Hove Albion for the non-award of a penalty in their match with Tottenham Hotspur, alongside a pledge to review the incident.

“While an apology does not alter the outcome of a match, such responsibility, and openness would be welcome in Scotland.”

As Rangers' statement referenced, it was revealed on Monday that referee Clancy received a barrage of abusive messages over the holiday weekend since his involvement in the game. 

The SFA has referred the messages to Police Scotland, with his personal and professional contact details leaked online.

Ian Maxwell, Scottish FA Chief Executive, said: “The nature of the messages goes way beyond criticism of performance and perceived decision-making - some are potentially criminal in nature and include threats and abuse towards Kevin and his family. 

“We have referred the correspondence to the police and condemn this behaviour in the strongest possible terms, as well as the posting of a referee’s personal details online with the sole purpose of causing distress.

“Football is our national game. It improves and saves lives. Without referees, there is no game, and while decisions will always be debated with or without the use of VAR, we cannot allow a situation to develop where a referee’s privacy and safety, and those of his family, are compromised. 

“We all have a responsibility to protect our game and those essential to it.” 

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