NafisaDanny Rohl alluded to irritation over two key moments after Rangers slipped to a 3-1 defeat at Celtic Park, although neither incident appeared as contentious as some reaction suggested afterwards.
The Rangers manager pointed towards Yang Hyun-jun’s equaliser and Alistair Johnston’s second half challenge on Mikey Moore while reflecting on the loss. Online reaction quickly swelled with complaints from the travelling support over Benjamin Nygren’s positioning during the first Celtic goal and whether Johnston should have been shown more than a yellow card.
However, on closer inspection, both episodes look relatively thin as flashpoints.
Yang’s strike stemmed from sharp interplay inside the penalty area after Luke McCowan and Arne Engels carved Rangers open down the right flank. Nygren was positioned close to Jack Butland when Engels delivered the ball across goal, yet the Rangers goalkeeper was never realistically in a position to stop the effort.
Yang met the pass cleanly at close range and Butland was already effectively wrong-footed by the speed and direction of the delivery before the shot was even struck. Nygren did not obstruct the goalkeeper’s movement and there was nothing in Butland’s reaction to indicate his line of sight had been meaningfully impaired.
Officials reviewed the goal and allowed it to stand without prolonged delay.
The Johnston incident also appeared fairly routine in live play. The Celtic defender clipped Moore late during a tense phase midway through the second half and referee Nick Walsh promptly issued a yellow card.
It was untidy, there is no argument there.
But Johnston was not reckless in the sense of losing control, and there was no full-bodied lunge or excessive use of force. Moore quickly returned to his feet and play continued without any extended medical stoppage or VAR intervention suggesting a harsher sanction.
Rohl was careful not to directly target the officials after full-time.
He said: (Sky Sports), “I never look for excuses, but what I heard, maybe there is an offside, maybe there is a red card, but maybe there is a decision-making on the pitch, I’m not the manager to attack in public the refs.”
The more decisive factor for Rangers was what unfolded after Celtic drew level.
Once the home side grew into the contest, Rangers found it increasingly difficult to cope with sustained pressure. Callum McGregor began controlling possession, Kieran Tierney repeatedly pushed Celtic upfield, and Daizen Maeda’s movement between the lines became extremely difficult to manage.
By the closing stages, Rangers were pushed deep for long periods and looked visibly drained while chasing the ball.
That ultimately shaped the outcome far more than any refereeing talking point.
Nafisa
