It was a nervy night for Rangers during Michael Beale’s first game in charge.
The Light Blues found themselves trailing Hibs at half-time after goals from Ryan Porteous and Kevin Nisbet either side of Fashion Sakala’s equaliser. Ryan Jack restored [parity after the break before Alfredo Morelos hit the winner. The Hibees missed chances to go further ahead before half-time, and believes they should have been given the opportunity to extend their lead from the spot after James Sands appeared to handle in the area,
A Joe Newell corner was sliced up into the air by Malik Tillman at the near post and Rangers struggled to properly clear their lines. A second attempted clearance was sent towards the back post, and Sands jostled with Nisbet as the ball dropped out of the sky. The American attempted to head away, but seemed to lose his bearings and missed with his head as the ball struck his forearm, which was out in front of him.
One or two Hibs players appealed, but ref Nock Walsh waved play on. The whistler didn’t blow for a foul against Nisbet and award Rangers the free kick, so can only have felt that Sands’ arm was in a natural position while challenging, or that Nisbet’s pressure caused him to miss the header and the ball to strike his arm accidentally.
VAR Alan Tair would have had multiple angles to review the incident, but concurred with his onfield colleague’s call and play continued. It was a big moment, as a two-goal deficit would have give the hosts a mountain to climb, especially in front of a restless home crowd given the first half display from Beale’s men.
The IFAB rule states: "Not every touch of a player’s hand/arm with the ball is an offence. It is an offence if a player:
- Deliberately touches the ball with their hand/arm, for example moving the hand/arm towards the ball
- Touches the ball with their hand/arm when it has made their body unnaturally bigger. A player is considered to have made their body unnaturally bigger when the position of their hand/arm is not a consequence of, or justifiable by, the player’s body movement for that specific situation. By having their hand/arm in such a position, the player takes a risk of their hand/arm being hit by the ball and being penalised
- Scores in the opponents’ goal:
- Directly from their hand/arm, even if accidental, including by the goalkeeper
- Immediately after the ball has touched their hand/arm, even if accidental.
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