Philippe Clement: Rangers manager is adamant his side should have had a penalty for Alistair Johnston handball despite it being offside

The second half saw the revelation that Rangers had not been awarded a penalty for a handball by Alistair Johnston because Abdallah Sima had been offside in the build-up. Rangers manager Philippe Clement remained adamant that the play should have resulted in a penalty.

Under pressure from Abdallah Sima, Celtic defender Alistair Johnston may have handballed, but VAR saw fit to rule out a penalty. Even though Sima was later found to have been offside throughout the build-up, referee Walsh nevertheless awarded a goal kick.
Clement also took issue with Paulo Bernardo of Celtic, who was already on a caution, not getting sent out for a late tackle on Conor Goldson, and with Johnston, a defender, not receiving a second yellow card even though he made contact with Sima’s face.
Given that Leon Balogun was eventually sent out for a professional foul on Daizen Maeda, the two judgments had considerably more weight.

“It was the appropriate call to play with 10 players for 15 minutes; it’s a red card. We weren’t very good at that action,” Clement said to Sky Sports.

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“However, I also want to know why there wasn’t a handball in the first half that resulted in a penalty. It’s obviously a handball.

“Why not several tackles leading to a second yellow card and numerous yellow cards towards the end of the game? a few peculiar choices made in that manner.”
The Rangers manager retorted, “The decision was not made about an offside, the decision of no penalty was made about the handball,” after Sky Sports reporter Luke Shanley informed Clement that there had been an offside in the build-up to the Johnston “handball” incident.

“That was the choice made. For me, that was an odd choice.

Later, he said, “With the quality of the game, it’s a 2-2 if we get this penalty. We were unlucky with the two [Celtic] goals.” It’s a different narrative in perspective.

Lennon: Everything about this is a joke.
Neil Lennon, a pundit for Sky Sports, called the entire event a “farce” and said that Clement was likely irritated since he was not given a complete explanation of the reasoning behind the decision not to award the penalty.

Lennon insisted at halftime that Rangers ought to have been awarded a spot kick for the Johnston handball; however, the offside ruling was not made clear until after the break.

For me, it’s a farce. It truly is,” Lennon remarked. “Please let us know whether the VAR crew determined that it was offside.

“I can see why Clement would be really irritated about that and the lack of a thorough explanation. It’s ludicrous for a game this size, but we know now, or we knew in the second half.

It’s even to the point that, had it been onside, it might not have been awarded a handball. That brings up another can of worms.

“Celtic gets a free kick if it was offside. However, a goal kick was given. So once more, it’s peculiar.”

Kris Boyd of Sky Sports, meanwhile, agreed with Lennon on the handball incident and said that Clement had a valid concern about why Bernardo was not dismissed for a late challenge on Goldson.

For me, it’s a farce. It truly is,” Lennon remarked. “Please let us know whether the VAR crew determined that it was offside.

“I can see why Clement would be really irritated about that and the lack of a thorough explanation. It’s ludicrous for a game this size, but we know now, or we knew in the second half.

It’s even to the point that, had it been onside, it might not have been awarded a handball. That brings up another can of worms.

“Celtic gets a free kick if it was offside. However, a goal kick was given. So once more, it’s peculiar.”

Kris Boyd of Sky Sports, meanwhile, agreed with Lennon on the handball incident and said that Clement had a valid concern about why Bernardo was not dismissed for a late challenge on Goldson.

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