BY ALAN TEMPLE – @CCP_Sport
Rangers boss Mark Warburton last night savaged under-fire referee Willie Collum for a series of “shocking” decisions during the Gers’ 2-1 defeat against Falkirk.
The Glasgow outfit fell behind after just three minutes when Danny Wilson scythed down Will Vaulks, with Collum pointing to the spot despite the challenge taking place outside the box. John Baird slotted home the resulting penalty.
Warburton questioned the call and also queried why Wilson was not sent off if the whistler had confidence in his decision.
He said: “There were some shocking decisions out there today and we had to deal with them.
“If it’s a penalty and a goal scoring opportunity then why wasn’t Danny sent off?
“I think everyone inside the stadium saw the incident happened two or three yards outside the box. If you are going to make that decision less than three minutes into a game of that importance then you must get it right.
“Danny was distraught as he knew it wasn’t a penalty.”
Rangers levelled through Barrie McKay before Vaulks restored the Bairns’ lead.
However, Collum took centre-stage yet again in injury time when he awarded another penalty, this time for a perceived hand-ball by Blair Alston.
Warburton added: “I haven’t had the luxury of seeing our penalty again but, at the time, I didn’t believe it was a penalty. It looked innocuous to me, so I’m not saying it is all one sided.”
Plan B
Rangers have now won just one of their last four league matches amid criticism for being predictable and lacking a ‘Plan B’.
However, Warburton has vowed to use “negativity” to their advantage ahead of next Monday’s mouth-watering clash against Hibs at Ibrox.
He added: “We are disappointed and no doubt there will be negativity but I know how strong our squad is and we will feed off of that.
“It’s a sell-out Ibrox and we have a responsibility to enjoy that. It will be a good grass surface and we will have an expectant crowd so we’ll look forward to that.”
