4 VIP Rangers pundits aghast as blue glasses come off and Gio van Bronckhorst tells uncomfortable truths
A penalty not given at one and given at the other doesn't change the view that Athletic Club deserved Europa League victory
There was outrage and honesty from the Rangers pundits after Athletic Club ended the dream journey to Bilbao.
The outrage was at the failure to award Barry Ferguson's side a penalty in the first half when Cyriel Dessers had his shirt ripped off him by Dani Vivian.
But there was honesty that John Souttar's foul on Maroan Sanaddi was the correct call at the other end, and that the Basques were worthy winners over the two legs.
Record Sport looks at what 4 Ibrox VIPs made of the Europa League quarter-final defeat
Kris Boyd
“It’s a disgrace. The three of us have looked at it and said it's a stonewall penalty. Cyriel Dessers has had to go off and change his shirt. It’s a slack pass but Dessers has managed to turn and get away from him, The goalkeeper is coming out and Vivian just pulls his shirt, it;s ripped across the middle.I can;t believe for the life of me why that has not been given as a penalty kick. The referee hasn’t even been sent to the monitor. Honestly, it’s a terrible decision.
“Dessers has a new shirt on. He actually got booked for coming back on before he had his shirt on so he had a yellow card and it was a stonewall penalty. Incredible, just ripped the full shirt right across the middle.”
“Barry Ferguson will be absolutely raging. It was one-and-a-half minutes into added time, Rangers get a quick free-kick and they just launched it into the corner, rather than just killing the game."
Ally McCoist
"I think Rangers can be really proud of their European campaign. Particularly second half, they can wholly cover themselves in glory against the favourites to win the tournament. but if you're asking me honestly, I think the better team over two legs are going to the semi-finals. to play the winners of Lyon Man Utd.
“For the Athletic penalty, Souttar just gets caught on the wrong side. He should realise that Balogun is there covering him. Sannadi does well as an attacker and buys that off him, which is a real shame to give away a goal at that moment in time. Souttar, with his experience, should probably know the cover is also there.
Gio van Bronckhorst
"I think so, it is a good transition moment and they get a little bit lucky with the ball, but he is getting pulled, his shirt is damaged. I want to know the explanation from the ref.”
“Souttar should have let the ball go to Balogun, and then crossed inside to cover Balogun again. You're taking a risk, you don’t have clear vision on the ball and he's a smart striker. He puts his leg in front of you and then you're too late.
"Athletic created the most chances and played better than last week. If you take your Rangers glasses off, then you will say that the better team won."
Alan Hutton
“For me, it’s definitely a penalty. If anyone saw the Real Madrid game on Wednesday night an the shirt pull, Courtois was coming out for the ball and it was given.
“For the Athletic penalty, Souttar just gets caught wrong side. He should realise that Balogun is there covering him. Sannadi does well as an attacker and buys that off him, which is a real shame to give away a goal at that moment in time. Souttar, with his experience, should probably know the cover is also there.
"First and foremost, the players and fans will be devastated. But they should be really proud of getting to the quarterfinal after the domestic season that they've had. They've saved some amazing performances for Thursday evenings but when you look at what actually happened with Yilmaz going off early, the formation changing, Balogun going off as well and the penalty situation that went against Rangers, there was a lot that didn't fall in their favour. But over both legs, Athletic Club deserved to win."