Outrage over referee's decision prompts calls for their removal following Rangers manager's criticism

Rangers manager Philippe Clement expressed his frustration over what he deemed as the 'most egregious decision' he has witnessed in his three-decade-long career in football following his team's loss to Dynamo Kyiv in the Champions League.

Scottish giants Rangers saw their Champions League run come to an abrupt end as they were beaten 2-0 by Kyiv at Hampden Park in their qualifier.

Kyiv took advantage of their numerical advantage after defender Jefte was controversially sent off for two yellow cards, progressing in the competition thanks to late goals from Oleksandr Pikhalyonok and Nazar Voloshyn.

The defeat means Rangers drop into the less lucrative and desirable Europa League for the second season in a row.

Rangers manager Clement was left furious with the decision to send off Jefte for a second yellow card following a fairly innocuous aerial challenge with Oleksandr Karavayev.

The Rangers players were stunned when referee Marco Guida dismissed the Brazilian and VAR was unable to intervene as the technology is not used to check yellow cards.

‘I’ve seen the images back, it’s clearly not a foul,’ manager Clement told BBC Scotland. ‘He jumps higher and that’s everything that happens.

🟥 Red card

Rangers’ task has just become much more difficult.

Brazilian Jefte is given a second yellow card and Rangers are down to 10 men against Dynamo Kyiv.

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‘He is not moving his arm towards the man or whatever. It’s a crucial decision in this game. Everyone who watched this game saw we were the better team on the ball against a good Dynamo Kyiv team.

‘We had a few chances to open up things and we knew they would get tired in the second half. Then we get the red card five minutes into the second half.

‘It’s a big moment in the game. But, even then, with 10, I’m really proud with my players and what they showed.

‘Until the goal, we were the team getting the better moments. The decision was a game changer. With the decision of one person, you take away the dream of a whole dressing room. It’s really hard.’

Clement added: ‘Financially, it’s a big difference for the club. It will make a difference for the transfers coming in also. I don’t expect this rebuild to be done in a few weeks’ time.

‘It’s hard for my team. They don’t deserve this after these two games versus Dynamo Kyiv. One person with one decision made a really big change for us.

‘It’s the second time in my career of over 30 years that something unjust has happened. We can only accept it and move forward towards the league and the Europa League.’

Ex-Rangers goalkeeper Allan McGregor described the decision as ‘horrific’ while former stars Billy Dodds and Derek Ferguson called it ‘a disgrace’.

Dodds, a former Scotland striker, said: ‘Maybe there’s a bump in the challenge for the ball, but I think that’s a shocker. It’s ridiculous.

‘We know the game is getting modernised, but my word, if you’re getting a yellow card when it’s not even a foul, getting sent off for that, what’s the point?

‘The referee – not good enough. Sorry, you shouldn’t be refereeing at this level.’

McGregor also questioned if the referee should continue officiating in the Champions League this season.

‘It’s an absolutely horrific decision,’ he said. ‘It’s that bad, I don’t think the referee should work in the Champions League again this season.

‘Anyone with two working eyes can see that’s not a second yellow card.’

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