Michael Beale admits he has nothing but sympathy for referees when it comes to applying the handball rule.
It was a wild afternoon at Ibrox as Rangers edged past Partick Thistle to book their place in the last eight of the Scottish Cup in a dramatic five-goal thriller. The Jags went ahead when Antonio Colak was penalised for a handball by referee David Munro after the whistler consulted VAR. Rangers got a penalty of their own amidst the madness which James Tavernier could not convert.
But by far the biggest moment of madness came when Malik Tillman capitalised on Partick's plan to give the ball back to Rangers which sparked a huge fracas when the USA international scored. Beale then instructed his team to allow Ian McCall's men to score unopposed before an own goal settled the tie in the home side's favour.
READ MORE: Michael Beale allows Partick Thistle free goal vs Rangers after Malik Tillman Ibrox drama
And the Englishman, reacting to a chaotic ninety minutes, revealed his sympathy for the officials and says the rule, not the referee must be examined. He told BBC Sportsound: "He's [Colak] so close to the ball and it's not deliberate because it's not going towards the goal but it is the rule.
"I feel for the officials because all they are doing as acting upon the rule. We keep pointing fingers at our referees and VAR as a process but they are applying what the rule is. We need to look at the rule. There's a lot of uncertainty on it at the moment."
On the Tillman incident, he added: "It was a big misunderstanding the whole thing. Malik gets injured and we play the ball out while he is on the floor. He was unaware we've played the ball out so when he gets up he thinks its a Partick throw so he goes and presses innocently.
"I don't want us to win a football game on that - a misunderstanding. That's all it was and it would have been the wrong thing to do. I've got high standards and so does the football club. We're in a better place tonight but it's not an easy thing to do.
"We won the game in the right way."
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