However, much to the striker's bemusement, and that of most observers, whistler Don Robertson failed to even award a foul, letting the American defender and the Ibrox side off the hook.

Video replays have only confirmed that Sands, who was already on a booking - should have walked, either as a second yellow, or a straight red, given Hiwula was denied a goal-scoring opportunity.

With 14 minutes played and the score still 0-0, it was a blessing in disguise on this occasion for Giovanni van Bronckhort's side that VAR has yet to arrive as they kept 11 men on the park and went on to win 4-0.

“The ball got played over the top. I have tried to run in behind, and the defender has wrapped his arms around me," Hiwula, the 27-year-old Englishman who joined County from Doncaster Rovers this summer, said.

“I don’t know what the referee has seen, or whether he has seen it or not. I just had to carry on playing and hope I could affect the game.

“I was just concentrating on the ball, I saw it going over the top. The defender wrapped his arms around me and I thought he would have got sent off, but it wasn’t to be.

“I would have been one-on-one with the goalkeeper. The referee and the linesmen had a decision to make and they didn’t make the decision.

Ross County's Jordy Hiwula appeals to the referee after he is brought down by Rangers defender James Sands. (Photo by Rob Casey / SNS Group)

“It could have been a lot different if they went down to 10 men.

“I think VAR would have been a big help for the referees. But it’s not in yet, so you’ve just got to play to the whistle."

Rangers withdrew Sands at half-time for youngster Leon King, and Hiwula added: “I think it shows their bench thought the next one he did he probably would have been sent off.”

John Lundstram's deflected opener gave Rangers the lead on 24 minutes then an Antonio Colak double either side of the interval extended the lead to three before substitute Steven Davis added a late fourth.

Colak admitted that things could not be better for him in Govan as he took his tally for the season to seven in nine appearances since joining from PAOK in July having struck the all-important winner against PSV in midweek.

The Croatian international told RangersTV: “We are really happy that we won 4-0 at home, it was really important especially after the European night we had.

“We wanted to show our dominance as fast as possible and we created a lot of chances, scored a lot of goals, kept a clean sheet and it couldn’t be better.

“We created a lot of space for each other, created a lot of possibilities, everyone tried to be in the box and we had each other’s back, even when we lost the ball and we could have had a bigger result.

“I am enjoying it so much. I am trying to work hard and to score so many goals in this short period couldn’t be better for me as a new player and I just want to continue like that and keep pushing."

Ross County's Jordy Hiwula has say on missed Rangers red card for James Sands - 'it could have been a lot different'

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