'Impossible' – Philippe Clement hits out in press conference after Rangers v Hibs controversy

Philippe Clement gave a post-match demonstration to address the penalty given against John Souttar during Rangers 1-0 win against Hibernian on Sunday 29 September.

The Rangers Review posted a video on X live from the Belgian’s press conference at Ibrox, where he stood up and re-enacted the incident which saw Souttar penalised for handball.

A shot hit Souttar’s elbow from close range, and after VAR advised referee Nick Walsh to give a penalty, Jack Butland bailed his team-mate out by saving Mykola Kuharevich’s effort from 12 yards.

An animated Clement said: “You cannot put your leg up with your arms like that (by his sides) – it’s impossible, so he has to find balance.

“He sees there’s going to be contact and he’s too late, and his natural reaction is to make himself smaller, to put his arm in front of him.

“And from one metre, the ball hits him and his arm goes up like that.

“I want to ask them what a player can do differently in that situation, it’s impossible – it’s biology, it’s biodynamics.”

Philippe Clement and Rangers get away with John Souttar incident

Had Butland been unable to save Kuharevich’s rather tame effort on the stroke of half-time, the early work done by Clement’s side would all have been undone on their Premiership return to Ibrox.

While the Gers were on top by the time Tom Lawrence tucked home the eventual winner on 34 minutes, Hibs’ VAR-awarded penalty proved a sign of things to come.

So too, it proved, did Butland’s save, with the visitors unable to find a way past the Light Blues’ last line of defence time and time again throughout a worrying second half from Clement’s perspective.

The Belgian becoming so animated in his post-match presser – despite Butland’s save rendering the penalty itself redundant – suggests that he was well aware how crucial a moment that could have been.

Regardless of how far off the pace the Gers were in the second half, seeing out a 1-0 win makes it four victories and clean sheets in a row, and that’s certainly something for Clement to get excited about.

In other Rangers news, Alan Brazil couldn’t resist making a joke towards Ally McCoist after what one ex-Ibrox man did in Europe.

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