Nick Montgomery, the manager of Hibernian, has taken issue at the officiating after his team lost to Rangers 4-0. He feels that Philippe Clement ought to have been sent off for stopping the ball before it was out of play.
Montgomery thinks that although Clement stopped the ball from leaving the pitch with his foot, the Rangers manager still interfered with the ball while it was still in play. Derek McInnes, the manager of Kilmarnock, was sent off before to the international break for a similar conduct, and the Hibs manager has demanded greater uniformity from the referees.
Following the match on October 21, Montgomery raged, saying, “I don’t think I would ever step on the pitch and control the ball,” in an interview with BBC Sportsound that was published by the Daily Record. There’s no way you foot on the pitch, if he was unsure. It didn’t go out from where I was, and the fourth official didn’t believe it had. When it occurs, you probably believe it won’t be your day because it’s against the law for them to have 12 guys on the field at that moment. “That is not the reason we lost the game; rather, I was perplexed as to why it was permitted when that incident occurred. The fact that they receive the throw-in is the worst part. “You don’t expect any favors at Ibrox, but that’s against the rules of the game.” The chagrin of a humiliated boss
In the end, Montgomery’s complaints and fumes are just the words of a defeated manager. It’s clear that Montgomery is trying to find anything to vent his resentment toward, and he’s settled on an incident that barely affected the game at all.
The new Rangers manager might have been sent off under the game’s rules, but the referee clearly didn’t think he had interfered with play or entered the field of play while the ball was in play; if he had, he would have received the appropriate penalty.
It’ll be up to Clement to move on and stop his tirades, but his comment about Montgomery having 12 men on the field is kind of funny, as if he was about to jump up top and score a goal for the home team.
