Goian returns with a grievance over refereeing decisions

RANGERS defender Dorin Goian has claimed his club’s fall from the top of the SPL table has been influenced by a series of refereeing decisions against them.

Goian returns from suspension for today’s match against Motherwell at Ibrox, having missed last Wednesday’s Old Firm defeat at Celtic Park due to his dismissal in the 2-1 reversal at St Mirren on Christmas Eve.

The Romanian international insists Steven McLean was wrong to send him off for two bookable offences in a match which also saw Lee McCulloch shown a straight red card which Rangers have appealed against.

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“In the last few games we have played, I have noticed that all the decisions which are 50-50 have gone against us,” said Goian. “It is only a comparison to the way it was at the beginning of the championship. I have noticed in the last month that the 50-50 decisions have not gone our way.

“I don’t think I deserved the second yellow card at St Mirren. The first booking was okay, but not the second.

“I have been in Scotland for a couple of months and I’ve seen many bad injuries, but sometimes the referees don’t even whistle for fouls. So to give me a second yellow card for my second foul, I don’t understand. I respect the referee, but I was very surprised by the second yellow card. I pulled the St Mirren player a little, but it was in the middle of the pitch. I wasn’t the last defender or anything like that.” Despite his sense of grievance with referees, Goian accepts that Rangers’ faltering form is the main issue to address after slipping two points behind Celtic in the title race.

“It’s our fault we are not top of the league any more,” added Goian. “We were first and now we are second. Mentally, we are not very well at the moment. We need to beat Motherwell and after that everything will be okay. We just have to rediscover our confidence, because it is missing just now. But the championship is long and I am very confident we will win it.

“We can do what Celtic have just done, win many games in a row. We did it at the start of the season. We have to play Celtic twice more, so it’s still in our hands to win the championship.

“We are not depending on Celtic’s results, it’s up to us. We have to work harder in training to improve our quality. If we do that we will win more games.”