REF RAP’S UNCOLLED FOR GERS
v Ayr United
Today, 5.30pm
BY
PHILIPPE CLEMENT has demanded Rangers draw a line under the Willie Collum affair – revealing he had no idea the club were going to ask for the ref to be taken off their games.
The Ibrox boss insists he would quit on the spot if he ever felt a referee was biased and has urged the Light Blues to move on from the fall out from the new year Old Firm.
Gers met with SFA chiefs in the days following the explosive new year Old Firm clash where Collum was in charge of VAR and decided to back on-field ref Nick
Walsh’s decision not to penalise Celtic defender Alistair Johnston for handling in his own box.
TV pictures later showed that there was an offside in the build-up to the incident anyway.
The spotlight falls on Collum tonight as he takes charge of his first Rangers game since Ibrox chiefs controversially asked the SFA not to involve him in any more of their matches after December’s furious Old Firm clash.
Clement said: “I’m happy, to be honest. When there’s one moment that I think a referee is not neutral then I would directly quit my job. I’m happy we can leave the past behind us.”
The Belgian boss hopes there is no animosity towards Collum this evening as he urged his players to focus on getting a result to move themselves into the quarter final.
He said: “Then we can leave this story behind us. For me there was a fault made. It was a clear handball.
“But I am also not without fault. I make faults probably every day. So I don’t look at people if they make a mistake that they are like that for life or whatever. “This is a new game and a new situation.
“It’s important when we speak about this game not to live in the past. That’s important in life as well.
“I don’t want my players to be living in the past about the last few weeks, months or the beginning of the season.
“It’s about the next game and performing there. If we make mistakes then you expect to get new chances to prove you can come back.”
This is a new situation and I just want my players to put it behind them now