Rangers reaction: Raging Philippe Clement slams ref call but puts one condition on official complaint

Angry Philippe Clement has accused Italian referee Marco Guida of “killing” the dreams of 50,000 Rangers fans.

A contentious red card for Jefte maintained Dynamo Kyiv’s hopes of Champions League riches and left Rangers bereft at Hampden, where they have been forced to move due to delayed Ibrox renovations.

Clement must like the world is against him. Guida put another spoke in Rangers’ wheel when he ensured they had to play 40 minutes with ten men as they eyed the £4 million windfall that comes with reaching the play-off round – with £40m the ultimate prize on offer for qualifying for the Champions League group stage.

Rangers manager Philippe Clement remonstrates with referee Marco Guida. | SNS Group

The referee flashed a second yellow card in Jefte’s face- he was booked in the first half for a lunge on Andriy Yarmolenko – five minutes after half-time after an aerial challenge with Oleksandr Karavaiev, with the Rangers player punished for leaving with his elbow. The visitors took advantage of Rangers’ tired legs by scoring twice in the last eight minutes to secure a play-off with Salzburg.

But the most pressing topic afterwards was Guida, who Clement confronted after the final whistle. Terms like “horrendous” and “disgrace” were being banded about as pundits digested the Jefte decision on television. Clement simply described it as the worst decision he has seen in over 30 years of involvement football.

“It's a very decisive moment and in the end it has killed the dream of a dressing room, it has killed the dream of more than 50,000 fans,” he said. “You expect a better level in decision-making, because this is for me the worst decision I've seen in more than 30 years.

“I have a lot of things in my head, but you guys know that every word I say is too much. I can get a ban also for the next European game, so let's keep things in my head.”

He said he would support an official complaint from the club, “providing it doesn’t have consequences”.

Jefte was sent off for this challenge on Oleksandr Karavaiev. | SNS Group

Clement was adamant that the red card was the turning point in the tie. “Before that we were dominating the game, and we were creating the chances out of that - not massive chances, because Dynamo is also a good team, but you saw they were getting tired and we knew the last half hour we would get more space to get better chances. So, yeah, the players kept on doing what they had to do, they kept on believing. But then you get the goal against at the end, and then you do a little bit of casino to try to force something and you get the second goal against…”

He admits the setback could impact on his plans for Rangers this season. “I told you guys this week, if you go to the Champions League you can do things faster, because there's £40m coming into the club,” he said. “That's not the case now, so it will take more time.

“That's the reality,” he added. “To do the things that you want to do, or the things that the club wants to do for the future. But it doesn't mean that the story stops of course, and you see it already now with young, exciting players coming into the club, making steps."

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