Rangers hit back in Hibs penalty row and as coach claims Willie Collum was spot-on with his Ibrox verdict

Rangers assistant-manager Gary McAllister insists referee Willie Collum was correct to reject two penalty claims for Hibs at Ibrox on Boxing Day.
Rangers assistant manager Gary McAllister insists referee Willie Collum was right to deny Hibs' penalty claim for Ianis Hagi's challenge on Joe Newell at Ibrox on Boxing Day. (Photo by Rob Casey / SNS Group)Rangers assistant manager Gary McAllister insists referee Willie Collum was right to deny Hibs' penalty claim for Ianis Hagi's challenge on Joe Newell at Ibrox on Boxing Day. (Photo by Rob Casey / SNS Group)
Rangers assistant manager Gary McAllister insists referee Willie Collum was right to deny Hibs' penalty claim for Ianis Hagi's challenge on Joe Newell at Ibrox on Boxing Day. (Photo by Rob Casey / SNS Group)

Hibs boss Jack Ross believed Collum denied his team a ‘stonewall’ spot-kick for Ianis Hagi’s high challenge on Joe Newell.

The Easter Road side also appealed for a penalty when Ryan Porteous tumbled in a tangle with James Tavernier, while Rangers had a claim of their own when Kemar Roofe went down under a Porteous tackle.

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But McAllister has backed Collum’s judgement throughout the contest and feels the merits of Rangers’ 1-0 win have been obscured by the post-match controversy.

“I’ve been in and around the game for a long time,” said the former Scotland captain. “It is a modern-day thing but the Old Firm clubs are probably over-analysed.

“It’s disproportionate. We felt the three points were massive on Saturday. A lot of the talking points were about things that happened within the match but I thought we adapted really well to the conditions and to a different type of opponent who were a wee bit more expansive.

“But we are talking about incidents within the game which were probably the right decisions made by the referee.”

McAllister has confirmed Ryan Jack will again be missing when Rangers face St Mirren in Paisley on Wednesday, while fellow midfielder Scott Arfield awaits the result of a scan on the ankle injury he suffered after coming on as a substitute against Hibs.

"We are hopeful Scott’s injury is better than it initially looked," said McAllister. “With Ryan, we just have to be a wee bit more patient.”

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