Rangers Sporting Director Kevin Thelwell has confirmed the club will reopen discussions with the SFA after what he described as “very, very frustrating” refereeing inconsistencies during this month's Old Firm at Hampden during a recent interview with Rangers TV.
Speaking with an unusual level of public firmness, Thelwell laid out the club’s position on a series of high-profile decisions, most notably the Austin Trusty incident, which he insists should have resulted in a straight red card.
“It’s clear that everybody associated with Rangers Football Club is very, very frustrated with that fixture,” Thelwell said.
“We were disappointed with some of the consistencies of the refereeing on that day.”
Rangers were left furious after what appeared to be a blatant strike to the head of Jacl Butland from Trusty went unpunished.
Thelwell made it clear the club has not accepted the SFA’s explanation.
“Following that meeting, whilst we agreed with some of the points made, we still fundamentally disagree with others, in particular the Austin Trusty incident,” he stressed.
“It’s clear from our side that it’s a red card. Striking somebody on the head is nothing short of a red card.”
Thelwell warned that allowing such an incident to pass without proper sanction sets a “dangerous precedent”.
Rangers Push for Higher Standards Across Scottish Officiating
The Sporting Director also revealed the club has undertaken its own internal review of refereeing decisions across a wider range of matches, not just the Old Firm, with the aim of presenting further evidence to the SFA.
He said: “We’ve been doing some analysis of our own over a much wider period and perhaps want to talk to them again about some of that detail.
The goal, Thelwell insisted, is not to escalate tensions but to ensure Scottish football maintains proper professional standards.
“For one reason, and one reason only - we want greater consistency, we want a greater quality and a greater standard of refereeing,” he said.
“We want the focus to be on the football and not on the decisions.”
His comments echo growing frustration within the Rangers support, who have questioned officiating for a number of years now – citing repeated inconsistencies in this fixture stretching back to the 2019 League Cup final.
The club’s move to raise the matter formally. more than once, underlines how strongly Ibrox feels about the issue – and that this time, they’re not letting it go.
Rangers, he said, will request a further meeting with the SFA once all their analysis is complete.
In short: Rangers expect better and will continue to push until standards rise.