Welcome to Rangers, Patrick Stewart. The club’s new CEO has wasted no time getting to grips with the challenges awaiting him at Ibrox.
Stewart, who arrives with experience from his interim role at Manchester United, was fully aware of the expectations and pressures attached to life at Rangers.
However, his first days in office have brought him face-to-face with an issue that has dominated Scottish football discourse: refereeing decisions and VAR controversies.
Philippe Clement may have suffered defeat, but there’s a sense the Belgian has steadied the ship and brought much-needed progress on the pitch.
Now, with a new CEO in place, a degree of stability in the boardroom should follow. Yet Stewart’s early focus has been diverted to a different matter altogether – the Scottish FA and referee Willie Collum.
Stewart Demands Answers from the SFA
According to The Rangers Review’s Chris Jack, Stewart has wasted no time contacting the SFA for clarification on the incident that saw Rangers denied a blatant penalty.
John Beaton’s failure to award the spot-kick was compounded by VAR official Alan Muir, who inexplicably chose not to intervene.
It was a decision that left Rangers furious and even former referee Bobby Madden perplexed.
As Madden explained, Beaton should not have needed to review the monitor; VAR should have informed him the foul was clearly inside the penalty box.
Stewart is reportedly seeking transparency, with demands to hear the decision-making audio surrounding the moment.
The incident came at 3-3 in a cup final, a critical point where Rangers could have claimed victory.
Instead, what they face now is a likely apology – of little consolation to the club or its supporters.
A System in Crisis?
What makes this all the more frustrating for Rangers is the black-and-white nature of the decision. There was no subjective grey area: no handball debate, no argument about ‘clear and obvious error.’ It was, quite simply, a foul.
This latest controversy raises the question: should Rangers push for independent referees in Scottish football? It would not be unprecedented. In 2010, pressure from Celtic over officiating led to referees striking, forcing temporary outside officials into the game.
It may sound drastic, but as history shows, Scottish referees seem paralysed when it comes to making decisive calls in Old Firm matches that favour Rangers. Clement’s short tenure alone has already seen enough VAR inconsistencies to merit a deeper investigation.
Stewart will hope for more success than his predecessors, who saw their complaints about Willie Collum rewarded with promotion. As Rangers look to turn the page off the pitch and push for titles on it, decisive action over officiating standards will be high on the new CEO’s agenda.
