GERRARD FURY
Ibrox manager slams officials as win keeps faint title hopes alive
STEVEN GERRARD took a swipe at referee Euan Anderson and his assistants after Rangers had to settle for a 1-0 win over Livingston to keep within ten points of Celtic.
The Ibrox outfit ensured no further ground was lost thanks to Scott Arfield’s 59th-minute goal, but Gerrard was angry the officials had denied chances to increase his team’s advantage.
Anderson ignored penalty calls after a handball from Ciaron Brown impeded Connor Goldson’s attempts to connect with a James Tavernier corner in the second half.
Rangers also had strikes from Alfredo Morelos and Florian Kamberi chalked off for offside by assistant referee David Doig, with Gerrard adamant the Colombian’s angled finish should have stood.
‘I’m disappointed in the officials today,’ said the Ibrox boss. ‘I think when they look back at their performance they will be disappointed. I think he got the second (disallowed goal) just right, but
normally that might go for you. We accept that one. ‘The Morelos one is onside and there is a stonewall penalty. ‘I don’t like talking about officials, especially after a defeat, because you can look like you have the violins out or are looking for excuses. But, after a win, I think the timing is right. ‘It is a blatant handball (for the penalty claim). The referee said because of the (weather) conditions he didn’t mean it. He said to Connor Goldson: “I couldn’t give it because of the conditions, he didn’t mean it”. Yeah, that is new. ‘We could have been in a much more comfortable position. It will look like we rode our luck today but I am really pleased with the players and I am sure Gary (Holt) is pleased with his players because the conditions were brutal.’ The match went ahead after Storm Dennis had forced its postponement 24 hours earlier. Rangers restored calm after their collapse against Kilmarnock last week but suffered a scare when Livingston striker Lyndon Dykes struck a post with eight minutes remaining. ‘Everyone knows we are not firing on all cylinders at the moment, so it is important we get the job done and get over the line and we did that,’ added Gerrard. ‘We could have done it more convincingly. ‘The result is very important to us but people will probably look at the highlights and think Rangers rode their luck because they (Livingston) hit the post. ‘But if we had the right officials today, that would have been a 3-0 — if we score the penalty. ‘We could have been out of sight and more comfortable if the officiating was better. ‘It is nothing to do with how I feel or where we are. I just think at this level you expect decisions like that to be right and that is all I ask. I don’t ask for favouritism at all, I just ask for them to be right.’
The Rangers manager also revealed that leftback Andy Halliday was fortunate to escape serious injury when he toppled over an advertising hoarding in the second half. ‘He has gone over the board and there has been a chair upside down,’ said Gerrard. ‘The chair leg or part of the chair has gone and he has got a gash underneath his eyebrow. He is an extremely lucky boy, but he was excellent today and showed a lot of grit.’ Livingston had wanted the game played tonight but Holt refused to focus on the impact of a quicker turnaround. ‘I told the players not to use the quick rearrangement as an excuse,’ he said, ‘or come in after the game and say we didn’t have time to prep right and it wasn’t our usual routine. ‘I’m disappointed we didn’t get something and I wondered why Lyndon was shooting at his effort off the post as I thought he could have taken a touch — but that’s why he’s a striker and I wasn’t.’