Confirmed: KMI ruling unanimous on controversial Rangers incident after Clement's complaints

Philippe Clement’s view of the penalty controversy as Rangers beat Hibs has been roundly rejected by the SFA’s Key Match Incident panel.

The group’s rulings on officiating decisions from the 28-29 September weekend of Scottish Premiership fixtures has been released [SFA, 4 October], with a five to zero vote in favour of the decision against John Souttar following a VAR review at Ibrox.

Clement was animated in his protests following the game, re-enacting the situation [Rangers Review, 29 September] and insisting the centre-back’s shouldn’t have been penalised when Mykola Kukharevych’s attempt hit his elbow from close range.

Nick Walsh didn’t give a penalty on the field, which the KMI panel decided was wrong, but did so after a VAR review, with Jack Butland saving from the spot.

SFA panel agree with Rangers vs Hibs penalty on John Souttar

It was strange that Clement decided to make such an issue out of the penalty decision when Kukharevych’s kick was saved and the Light Blues held on for a 1-0 win.

The award was debatable at worst and by no means a shock so creating controversy around it didn’t seem to serve any purpose.

If he genuinely believed it shouldn’t have been given then he might argue he was being consistent, but instead it came across blinkered when he might have been better served saving his energy for a genuinely baffling decision.

It effectively makes no real difference either way what the KMI panel ruled as the game is passed and the points on the board, but it slaps down the manager’s protests.

Clement should probably be careful with what he is portraying as the image of control which he had for most of last season has slipped a long way since form fell away in the run in.

To an extent the Belgian has likely been obliged to take certain stances publicly after being put in an impossible position as the face of a club with all sorts of uncertainty behind the scenes, with temporary chairman John Gilligan admitting that has been “unfair” on the manager [Sky Sports Scotland, 24 September].

But some of the issues have been of his own making, such as trying to highlight a big win against Ross County in the aftermath of his latest defeat in the Old Firm derby at Celtic.

Those comments made no sense and would have put him at risk of the sack if the club hadn’t already backed him with a contract extension, according to Gordon Parks [5 September].

And drawing attention with needless protests against penalties which didn’t ultimately affect the game will only erode trust in Clement on top.

In other Rangers news, the Light Blues were mocked a “Glasgow minnows” by a journalist after what happened at Ibrox.

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