Ally McCoist labels Rangers referee 'an absolute embarrassment' in Athletic Club loss

Ally McCoist was left in disbelief after Cyriel Dessers was denied a penalty for Rangers despite having his shirt ripped.

The striker was convinced that Rangers should have been awarded a spot kick in Bilbao as he sprinted past Dani Vivian, who grabbed a handful of his shirt.

Dessers fell to the ground and immediately stood up demanding a penalty from Bosnian referee Irfan Peljto, but his pleas fell on deaf ears and VAR also showed no interest. The Gers striker persisted with his protests and was eventually shown a yellow card.

However, this paled in comparison to the reaction of TNT Sports co-commentator and Rangers legend McCoist.

He immediately pointed to the letter of the law, and pondered what PGMOL chief Howard Webb would have thought of the decision, having spoken with the former Premier League referee before the match started.

"By the letter of the law, that is a penalty," McCoist asserted. "The boys will have a look if, 10, 15 years ago, we are not even talking about it, letter of the law? It's a penalty.

"That's embarrassing (as yellow cards came out). Listen, what a state of affairs. An absolute embarrassment from the referee. Oh dear me. Holy smokes, honest to goodness.

"I had a good chat with Howard Webb before the game. He's here this evening and I'm dreading to think what Howard would think of that there."

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