The dust had barely settled on Rangers’ emphatic 3–0 destruction of Celtic at Ibrox when another layer of controversy began to emerge from an already explosive Old Firm encounter. What appeared to be another contentious moment during Rangers’ dominant victory has now developed into a major talking point ahead of Sunday’s return meeting at Celtic Park, with the Ibrox hierarchy taking the unusual step of raising the incident directly with Scottish football’s refereeing authorities.
Rangers manager Derek McInnes has confirmed that chief executive Jim Gillespie spoke to Scottish FA head of refereeing Willie Collum about the challenge involving Celtic midfielder Mika Baur and Rangers forward Ryan Naderi. The incident left Naderi with an ankle problem serious enough to place his participation in Sunday’s derby in doubt. (STV News)
And McInnes has made it abundantly clear that Rangers are not happy with what happened.
RANGERS HAVE TAKEN THE MATTER DIRECTLY TO THE AUTHORITIES — AND McINNES HAS NOW BROKEN HIS SILENCE
The incident occurred during Rangers’ 3–0 League Cup victory at Ibrox last weekend, when Baur challenged Naderi during the second half.
Referee Nick Walsh awarded the free-kick to Celtic rather than penalising Baur, while the incident did not lead to an on-field review.
Naderi initially attempted to continue playing, but eventually had to leave the field.
The consequences have now become much clearer.
McInnes revealed that Naderi’s ankle has been badly affected and described the challenge in extremely blunt terms.
“Ryan’s ankle’s a mess. It was a mess, it was a poor challenge.”
Those comments have reignited debate over the original decision and why the incident was not subjected to further review. (AOL.com)
“I FIND IT STRANGE” — McINNES QUESTIONS WHY THE INCIDENT WAS NEVER REVIEWED
McInnes was careful not to turn his entire press conference into a refereeing complaint, but his frustration was obvious.
When asked whether he had personally sought an explanation, he confirmed that Rangers had already taken the matter up with the authorities.
“Well, I haven’t, but the club have.”
He then explained that Gillespie had spoken with Collum and the SFA.
“The club, (chief executive) Jim Gillespie, spoke to (referees’ chief) Willie Collum and the SFA about it. I’m really not happy with the challenge, but I’m not going to get caught up in referee chat.”
Yet McInnes immediately returned to the issue that appears to have frustrated Rangers most.
“I’m surprised that the referee wasn’t asked to look at that. I find it strange that it wasn’t.”
For Rangers, the question is therefore not simply whether the challenge was worthy of punishment. It is also why the incident did not result in the referee being asked to review the footage. (Yahoo Sports)
THE DECISION HAS ALREADY COME UNDER FIRE FROM FORMER REFEREES
The controversy has not been limited to Rangers.
Former Premier League and FIFA referee Mark Clattenburg subsequently assessed the incident and said Walsh had made an error by awarding the free-kick to Celtic.
Clattenburg stopped short of saying the challenge deserved a straight red card, but said a yellow card should have been shown at minimum. (Rangers News)
Other former referees have gone further, arguing that the challenge should have resulted in a red card.
That disagreement has ensured that the incident remains one of the major talking points from Rangers’ 3–0 victory. (The Scottish Sun)
NOW THE CONTROVERSY COULD HAVE A DIRECT IMPACT ON SUNDAY’S OLD FIRM
The biggest concern for Rangers is no longer simply what happened during the cup victory.
It is what happens next.
Naderi is now a doubt for Sunday’s Premiership meeting at Celtic Park.
That could be a significant blow for McInnes because Rangers are already dealing with attacking absences.
Lawrence Shankland and Youssef Chermiti are unavailable, meaning Naderi’s absence would leave Kevin Kelsy and Bojan Miovski as the recognised striker options available to the manager. (Yahoo Sports)
McInnes admitted that Rangers do not have another straightforward replacement for Naderi.
“We don’t really have another like-for-like, but we’ll give him every chance.”
The Rangers manager also insisted that his team have dealt with injury problems before and that another player would have to step forward if Naderi cannot recover in time.
RANGERS NOW FACE CELTIC AGAIN — BUT THIS TIME AT PARKHEAD
The timing could hardly be more dramatic.
Just days after dismantling Celtic 3–0 at Ibrox, Rangers must return to face the same opponent at Celtic Park.
The first encounter produced a dominant Rangers performance, with Dan Neil scoring twice before Kevin Kelsy completed the victory.
Now McInnes must potentially prepare for the second Old Firm clash without one of the players who featured in that victory.
And that is what makes the Naderi situation particularly significant.
Rangers have already put the refereeing issue in front of the SFA.
Now they are waiting to see whether their striker will be physically ready to face Celtic again. (The Guardian)
THE OLD FIRM FIRE HAS BEEN LIT AGAIN — AND THIS TIME THE ARGUMENT IS OFF THE PITCH
The 3–0 scoreline was already painful enough for Celtic supporters.
But the fallout from the match has refused to disappear.
Rangers have raised the Baur-Naderi incident with the authorities. McInnes has publicly questioned why the referee was not asked to review it. Naderi remains a doubt for the return fixture. And former refereeing figures have disagreed over the appropriate level of punishment.
For McInnes, however, the priority now is clear.
He does not want his team distracted by refereeing controversy.
He wants his players ready for another battle.
“I’m hoping he can make it, but if he doesn’t, it will be somebody else’s opportunity.”
The controversy may therefore continue long after the final whistle at Ibrox has faded.
Rangers have already made their concerns known.
Naderi’s ankle has become a major selection issue.
And with another Old Firm showdown only days away, one controversial challenge has suddenly become one of the biggest stories surrounding Scottish football.
Sunday’s meeting at Celtic Park now has another subplot — and this time, the drama began with a challenge that Rangers clearly believe deserved far more scrutiny.
