Rangers say they are “astonished” that the Scottish FA has backed the decision to disallow a goal scored by Alfredo Morelos in Saturday’s Old Firm derby.
The Ibrox club asked for clarification of the award, made by referee Kevin Clancy and not overturned by VAR officials, during Celtic’s 3-2 victory.
Rangers said in a statement that they had now heard back “claiming the correct decision was taken”.
“The club is astonished by this,” a spokesperson stated.
“Especially given most observers, including former referees and former players, could see no issue with the goal standing.”
Debate has centred around whether Morelos pushed Celtic right-back Alistair Johnston before scoring or, if he did, whether the contact from the Rangers striker was sufficient to warrant a foul.
Former referee Stuart Dougal told BBC Scotland’s The VARdict that VAR officials could not become involved as “it’s not seen as a clear and obvious error” because it was “a bit 50-50”.
However, Rangers thought they warranted a similar reaction given by the Professional Game Match Officials Limited to an incident in England.
“This comes following a weekend in England where PGMOL have offered an apology to Brighton and Hove Albion for the non-award of a penalty in their match with Tottenham Hotspur, alongside a pledge to review the incident,” the Scottish Premiership club state.
“While an apology does not alter the outcome of a match, such responsibility and openness would be welcome in Scotland.”
Meanwhile, Rangers’ spokesperson also responded to the news that Clancy and his family have been the target of “threats and abuse” since he officiated Saturday’s match at Celtic Park.
The SFA said “unacceptable” messages via email and phone “potentially criminal in nature” had been referred to Police Scotland.
“Rangers condemns in the strongest terms any abuse of match officials,” the club spokesperson said. “We are all passionate about our game, but targeted, personal abuse of referees cannot be tolerated.”