Rangers complain to Scottish FA about referee Kevin Clancy

Rangers have written to the Scottish FA to complain about the refereeing of their Premiership match against Aberdeen, highlighting a series of errors they believe were made.

The sides drew 1-1 at Pittodrie on Wednesday night, with the match peppered with controversial incidents and calls made my match official Kevin Clancy and his team.

Rangers had gone ahead through Ianis Hagi with the goal coming after Aberdeen believed they should have had a penalty when Allan McGregor collided with Ryan Hedges when the forward was through on goal.

Aberdeen equalised with a Lewis Ferguson penalty after Alfredo Morelos had handled in the box, though the ball appeared to have rolled from the spot before the midfielder struck his shot.

The biggest controversy surrounded a red card for visitors Rangers. Ryan Kent was cautioned after a clash with Aberdeen’s Johnny Hayes but then saw a second yellow for a challenge on Dons captain Scott Brown. Many fans and pundits believed the second booking in particular was undeserved.

Rangers have now contacted the governing body to make their feelings known. The Ibrox club have noted eight specific incidents where they believe Clancy made the wrong call.

Speaking on Thursday, Rangers manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst had expressed his disappointment over Kent’s dismissal, saying he wished that individual bookings could be appealed so that they could challenge the decision.

Directly after the game, he had said that VAR could have helped to clarify the first Aberdeen penalty call when McGregor and Hedges contested the ball, and would also have caught the ball moving from the spot for Ferguson’s equaliser.

Asked by Sky about Kent’s red card he said: “It’s a physical game with a lot of tackles and a lot of duels, so you know there’s going to be yellow cards on both sides.

“It’s a decision by the ref. He (Kent) got booked just a little bit before so every chance you make a foul, the fans were going to scream, it’s normal in a place like this.”

Aberdeen manager Stephen Glass was adamant post-match that Clancy should have awarded his side a penalty.

“I don’t even look for [an explanation] any more,” he said. “The linesman said there wasn’t enough contact for a penalty and the referee said there was no contact.

“I won’t waste my time asking for an explanation.”