Former Premier League referee Keith Hackett has strongly criticized Rangers manager Philippe Clement for his comments following the Scottish Premier Sports Cup final. Clement’s side lost 5-4 on penalties to Celtic after a thrilling 3-3 draw, and the Belgian boss was left fuming after a penalty was not awarded for a foul on Vaclav Cerny.
Clement described the decision as “decisive” and “really weird,” and urged journalists to “really dig in to things” regarding the incident. However, Hackett believes that Clement’s comments were out of line and potentially worthy of punishment.
“If you question the integrity of a match official, which these comments appear to, it’s down to the Scottish FA to take action on the manager’s comments,” Hackett said. “Referees don’t question errors made by players. The channels in place are there for him to express his concerns. These comments don’t help with the integrity of the competition. It’s a crass statement that shouldn’t have been made.”
Clement’s frustration was aimed mostly at the VAR’s failure to recommend a review of the incident, and he claimed that he had received numerous messages about the penalty situation. However, Hackett believes that Clement should have followed the proper channels to express his concerns rather than making public comments that could be seen as questioning the integrity of the match officials.
The Scottish FA has since come out to explain the decision, with head of refereeing Willie Collum admitting that a spot-kick should have been awarded. Rangers CEO Patrick Stewart has also written to demand an explanation from the governing body.