'Just Doesn't Happen' - Michael Stewart reacts to double-whistle 'Shocker' claim in Rangers win

Michael Stewart insists the referee failed to follow the right procedure as Cyriel Dessers scored for Rangers vs St Johnstone.

Speaking on Premier Sports’ Scottish Football Social Club on 19 August the pundit continued his criticism of Matthew MacDermid from the match commentary two days earlier, adding there was “no question” that the official sounded like he had accidentally blown his whistle before the goal.

Dessers slammed the Light Blues ahead as MacDermid was gesturing for a foul by the striker in what Darrell Currie called a “shocker”, which he then blew up for before overruling in a VAR review.

Stewart claims the goal was good but the referee should not have allowed it. He said (22m 35s): “There’s no doubt about it. Look, fundamentally you do not play an advantage when you think an attacker has made a foul. It’s simple as that, it just doesn’t happen.

“There is no question that there, on that first angle, you do hear, as Al [Hutton] was saying, almost like he’s inhaling slightly on the whistle.

“It’s not a foul and the goal is good. It should stand as a goal. But the point is that there’s a normal procedure and if the referee thinks the attacker’s committed a foul he blows his whistle. He doesn’t play on.

“For argument’s sake if the ball comes in and the attacker elbows a defender you don’t allow the game to play on and the guy to score the goal, and then pull it back.”

Cyriel Dessers goal for Rangers allowed by Matthew MacDermid

There seems to be a broad consensus that Dessers’ goal itself was not a problem, which itself brings an argument when a very similar incident saw Kemar Roofe’s strike against Celtic disallowed last term.

In general Stewart is probably right that playing advantage for the player thought to have committed a foul doesn’t make sense.

But in the same way assistants now wait an age to raise their flag in case a goal occurs and an offside decision proves to be wrong MacDermid appears to have followed the same principle.

Raising his arm to blow for a foul, and potentially half-doing so, clearly creates a controversy if St Johnstone players reacted to that.

But it would arguably have been an even bigger controversy if Dessers had smashed the ball home just as a free kick was awarded only to find it was not a foul, so MacDermid’s immediate reaction put him in a no-win situation on the VAR review.

Either way it does show how quickly officials have to make split-second decisions in the moment, and fortunately for Philippe Clement his struggling side saw this one fall in their favour as Ross McCausland scored a well-taken second in stoppage time to make the game safe.

In other Rangers news, a vital arrival at Ibrox has finally brought a much-needed piece of big news.

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